The decision within the parties on the nomination of the persons who will form part of each candidacy is a very relevant issue in a representative system. The constitutional function of the parties compels them to observe more demanding internal democratic rules than those which govern associations in other areas of private mercantile or social life. This is, of course, to assure an internal democratic procedure, without prejudice to leadership characteristics (even charismatic) that necessarily come to the surface within the political organisations. This prerequisite is manifested in various forms depending on the historical and political circumstances of each country.
One of the procedures through which an effort is made to limit excessive influence of the party machines is the selection of candidates by means of prior internal elections, whether they are limited to the members of each local section of the party or are open to citizens voluntarily registered as their supporters (i.e., primary elections). These are two clearly different cases. The democratic election within the party itself has the virtue of forcing a certain transparency and of favouring open discussions about candidacies. But, in reality, it is only an assurance of internal democratic participation affecting the militant members of the party, and the nomination of candidates remains in the hands of the parties. The primary elections procedure permits greater participation since it also allows citizens that declare themselves as supporters of the party to participate in the selection, by registering as such on an ad hoc register.
The nomination of candidates through primary elections is usually evaluated positively by the citizens in countries where this continues to be the monopoly of partisan structures, although it does not usually awaken the enthusiasm of their leaders. However, in elections that are not strictly local, the need for economic means and structures for the campaign are such that, far from facilitating the opening up of electoral competition, often impose an even greater burden on the candidates, in time, logistics and expense.
