Introduction
The relevance of political parties in representative democratic systems is such that often democracies are qualified as 'party states'. Among their most important functions are:
- provide channels for creating, grouping together and representing opinions and political interests with a view to electoral processes
- contribute to select the political elite and the rulers
- formulate the programmes and ideological choices that compete in the political arena, providing a setting for interests and ideological preferences
In short, as Lipson pointed out, the state structures and executes everything that is of political importance.
The object here is not to examine all these functions, which nevertheless do determine fundamental elements of state's legal system, but only such aspects that have a bearing on its participation in the electoral processes. The intensity of its involvement in the latter, varies from one system, and from one electoral level, to another. In the case of parliamentary elections, in
some instances they hold the monopoly for the presentation of candidacies, whilst in nearly all of them the identification of the list on behalf of the party that backs it, is determinant. In presidential elections, the personality of the candidate is obviously significant, as well as which political party he belongs to.
Concept and Evolution
Political parties are the voluntary groupings of citizens that are established to contribute to determining the policy of the state (or of the relevant territorial level) by means of forming the political will of the citizens, the presentation and support of candidacies, the elaboration of political programmes and whatever other activities may achieve these ends.
Their constitution and functioning in a democratic state must be free, although they may be subject to certain formal and fundamental requirements (such as the elaboration of statutes to be placed in some public record or before the electoral authority)--essentially those relevant to act within democratic principles, upholding the constitution and the laws and being loyal to the democratic system.
Special requirements for political parties can also be derived from the fact
that some of their activities are subsidised with public funds. In some particularly advanced codes, mechanisms have also been created to ensure that their structure and functioning are democratic.
Parties can have very different structures. Those of the current democratic systems, come from two large branches:
- the small parties, notably of the liberal regimes that sprang from the French and American Revolutions
- the large labour parties that emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century
The first parties reflect the structure of the earliest constitutions, with restricted votes and political participation limited to a small portion of the male adult population. These groups were relatively lax as far as their programmes and ideologies were concerned, in which personal connections and attachments were determinant. Initially, their fundamental mission was to try to assure their own re-election and subsequently assure the recruitment of new parliamentarians, in a political career whose first step in national politics was normally taking up office as a member of parliament. Their evolution has been radically different in the American and European continents, each one of which has exported their model to other areas under their political and cultural influence.
The large or mass parties emerged in Europe in the second half of the nineteenth century with radically different features. They were made up of a growing number of citizens, the majority of which belonged to the working classes, deprived even of their right to vote. They were parties with a class structure, whose major aim was the battle for equality and social justice as opposed to privileged groups that monopolised the wealth and political representation. In the majority of the cases, they emerged as a branch of the unions devoted to parliamentary politics upon resolving not to limit themselves to industrial action but to enter into politics as well to give impetus to their claims from there. Their ideological, programmatic component was the axis of their political action, which was not limited to giving occasional support to the candidates during electoral processes. They possessed a permanent structure, a governing machine and a massive, organised membership.
The basic split among them occurred between those who accepted the electoral system as a democratic access route to the government, such as the Labour
Party in the United Kingdom, the Social-Democratic Party in Germany and the Nordic countries and those who maintained the revolutionary way of gaining power, from which the Communist parties that governed without competitive elections in the old Soviet block originated.
The greatest emergence of mass parties occurred in Europe between the two world wars of the twentieth century. The predominance and open confrontation between those of socialistic origin and the different models of mass parties of fascist ideology cornered the liberal parties and became one of the essential causes of World War II. The victory of the parliamentary democracies relegated the fascist-style parties to the residual regimes of Franco in Spain, Salazar in Portugal and various examples in Latin America.
The decolonisation processes gave rise to the appearance of two large party models:
- the mass parties of a democratic nature in countries that maintained representative systems, even though it may have been with one dominant party (as was the case in India)
- and those in which a decolonising party or front evolved into a single-party state, with elections that were only partly open and
representative (frequently the case on the African and Asian continents)
By and large, the American continent maintained the liberal parties model of bourgeois origin, due to the influence of Spanish constitutionalism and, later on, of the two-party model of the United States.
Which Parties Should Compete in Free Elections
Participation in democratic elections must be open to all parties that accept the democratic system and incorporate its essential principle into their internal operations as well as their external aims and conduct. Adherence to the democratic system itself, within which they operate, should, however, not be interpreted as absolute acceptance of the laws and policies established at all times. Nothing prevents them from advocating reforms or amendments to the constitution, as long as they accept the procedures outlined in the regulations in force to accede to the government or for legal or constitutional reforms.
In the majority of systems there are some minimum requirements for the recognition of the existence of parties in order to be able to participate in the political process. This generally entails ensuring that the constitution is revealed publicly, at least to a minimum extent, by means of registration or through any other common form of publicity and determining that the parties are democratic in nature for internal and public purposes.
As a rule, parties are registered on a public record kept by the attorney general or electoral administration. In a pluralistic system, this has to be a formal requirement, in which the name and identification particulars of the new party do not lead to confusion with regard to any other previously registered party. Their precepts or platform are submitted, from which it has to be determined that the party will pursue lawful aims, by democratic means, with equally democratic internal procedures. Any doubt in this regard, must be submitted to a judicial or independent government authority (such as the electoral administration or the parliament).
The controversy over tolerance limits that a democratic system should show towards activities of groups and parties that are not democratic or that aim to eliminate the democratic system is as old as democracy itself. There are, of course, several solutions in which the roots of each system have to be kept in mind, but a clear limit is the preservation of the rule of law and of the democratic system itself. The purpose is not to regulate demonstrations for the freedom of expression but, rather, to carry out organised, relevant political activities in electoral rivalry.
In general, lawful ends can be reduced to those that do not violate bona fide laws and that do not pursue the limitation or the substitution of the democratic system by one that is not. Proposals that advocate the changing of elements of the political organisation (the electoral system, the territorial or administrative division, the distribution of powers or even constitutional change) are not unlawful, as long as they abide by the procedures and legal regulations in force. In any case, it can be demanded that the parties that wish to participate in democratic elections accept and observe the constitutional system and democratic rules, not only in an attempt to gain access to the government but also in the event of gaining power in the government, should this occur. The minimum limits of this loyalty are the observance of the rule of law, constitutional rights and the procedures that govern the performance of public powers and institutions of the democratic state. For obvious reasons, the control cannot rest with the executive power, but must be in the hands of the jurisdictional or other independent organs that have constitutionally been entrusted with this function.
Internal Democratic Procedures
From a certain degree of maturity of the party system and the overall democratic system they are part of, the requirements for the internal operations of the political groups that attempt to accede to government or other representative functions are governed by more open and transparent rules. The most common manifestation is that the election of the leaders and political action programmes within each party also take place according to democratic procedures, open to all the members of the party. This is a characteristic concern in mature party systems, in which the parties' roots are ensured so they can devote this energy to their internal procedures. In any event, it is evident that the typical factors of popularity and even charisma that tend to characterise candidates intervene in the election of the leaders. But regardless of the reasons that determine the decision of their members, they have the opportunity to express themselves democratically and may even resort to court or other independent organs of control, should such rights not have been observed.
Rules on External Conduct
Two aspects can be distinguished in the outward behaviour of political parties:
- the means that they employ in their general political actions
- the specific requirements and rules of conduct that guide their participation in the different electoral processes
With regard to the former, their actions must be governed by the regulations in force for the protection of constitutional rights and the actions of the other the parties. Violent, coercive or intimidating means must of course be ruled out, but also such means that twist or distort the rules of free ideological dialogue among the parties, such as buying votes, the violation of procedures on funding of the political parties, forms of forbidden propaganda, whether it be because of whom they are directed at or the means employed.
The establishment of codes of conduct by parties, voluntarily laying down
reinforced procedures of conduct, especially with a view to electoral processes, is becoming more and more common. They govern such behaviour as:
- permissible means as well as those that should be avoided in electoral propaganda (e.g., references to the private lives or personal situations of the candidates)
- basic rules for political criticism among the parties or candidates to avoid excesses or excessive tension
- on occasions, such matters that should not be the target of electoral disputes due to the fact that they might be especially sensitive or because the preservation of a basic consensus on matters that have nothing to do with the issue of the elections is sought (the form of government, territorial or religious problems, etc.) (see Codes of Conduct)
