In the majority of the parliamentary systems, the possibility that independent party candidacies and coalitions may intervene is quite limited. Parliamentary elections--at least country-wide elections--are disputed among major parties, and only they are entitled to the full public aid that an electoral campaign entails (see Electoral Campaign).
The independent candidacies and the so-called voters' groups (which are ultimately a form ) are faced with material, and often legal, requirements and limitations that relegate these candidates to a marginal role in modern democracies. Among these limitations are:
- specific requirements for endorsement by a certain number of signatures in order to present their candidacies
- obligation to put down monetary deposits
- limited access to free electoral exposure in the public media
- in systems that provide public aid to the electoral campaigns, usually do not receive funds up front
A paradigmatic example is the regulation contained in article 220.4 of the Spanish electoral law on the requirement of a set number of signatures. The demand for signatures is practically eliminated for political parties, since the signatures of fifty officials elect on any level, even municipal, are
enough. However, the voters' groups that do not have the capacity the parties
have to raise them, have to present 15,000 signatures. In short, their possibilities of taking part in the campaigns effectively are very limited, unless they are able to invest their own substantial funds and other resources. Such was the case of Ross Perot in two successive presidential campaigns in the United States. In fact, in the second one, he eventually obtained far fewer votes, partly because he had been excluded from access to the media.
The exception is an election that permits candidates or groups with limited means to take part because of the reduced area they cover, such as a local election.
On the contrary, in presidential systems, the personality of the candidate is usually of greater importance, so the weight that the parties carry in the presentation of the candidacy, is relatively less. This is a consequence of the different way of sharing power between a president elected by direct vote and the members of the chambers, who are indeed from specific parties. Presentation to the latter by the parties is not always sufficient and on top of that, a certain number of citizens' signatures are often required.
