When addressing the question of the degree of loyalty towards the democratic system that can be expected from the political parties competing in elections within it, the following can be distinguished:
- Countries which, following a totalitarian experience, forbid the mere existence of parties that supported such regimes and monitor the possible reappearance of others with an anti-democratic ideology (e.g., Nazi Germany or Fascist Italy) through specific bodies (e.g., federal office for the protection of the constitution);
- In other cases, through an evolution from non-democratic systems, the old
single parties have been transformed, at least accepting the new democratic system and taking part in the elections according to its rules;
In some cases they are, moreover, strongly established parties, speaking from an electoral point of view, such as those which have followed the former communist parties in many of the countries that were governed by them. In some of the new democratic states, they have obtained majority governments (Rumania, Ukraine) and in others, the parties that emerged from them are the main opposition parties (Russia, Poland) or carry relative influence (PDS in Germany).
- On the contrary, there are abundant examples of single parties in non-democratic systems that have disappeared or have become irrelevant, inasmuch as free elections have proven their lack of citizen support (the case of Spain in its transition to democracy.);
- Lastly, reference has to be made to the democratisation processes in countries that have experienced guerrilla or open warfare and in which pacification has meant the establishment of a new democratic system that has integrated some of the contending groups (El Salvador, Colombia, Nicaragua
and other guerrillas in South America).
Evidently, parties that wish to participate in democratic elections are obligated to accept and observe the constitutional system and the democratic rules, not only to attempt to gain access to the government but also when it comes to governing it, should this occur. The minimum limits of this loyalty are respect towards the rule of law, constitutional rights and the procedures that govern the actions of the public powers and the institutions of the
democratic state.
