Internal democracy in political parties

Internal democracy in political parties 

Courtesy: Institute of democracy and electoral assistance. 

The internal democracy work is aimed at developing more democratic, transparent and effective political parties. The aim is to identify specific challenges for the internal management and functioning of parties and party systems. 

Areas of specific focus include candidate selection, leadership selection, policy making, membership relations, gender, minorities, youth and party funding. These issues are considered within the wider development context: for example the relationship to governance issues, anti-corruption and service delivery. 

The internal democracy work seeks to develop comparative knowledge via policy papers in the key regions of the Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle East and Latin America, with pilot activities in Nepal in 2007.

Using draft policy papers as an entry point, International IDEA carries out dialogue sessions with political parties and others (party internationals, academics, etc.) on internal party reform. International IDEA’s work on internal democracy will feed into the development of capacity building training initiatives for political parties.

International IDEA engages with other organizations involved in democracy building on the internal functioning and management of political parties. Thus far it has worked with Demo Finland and the Netherlands Institute for Multi Party Democracy in this field.

International IDEA press conference on internal democracy workshop in Sudan, June 2007

Policy paper dialgoue with public intellectuals, Khatmandu, Nepal, May 2007

Selection of candidates and internal democracy in political parties in Latin America

Selection of candidates and internal democracy in political parties in Latin America

Because a political party’s electoral success and representativeness depend on its selection of candidates for public office, this is one of the most important decisions that a political group can make. The selection process itself reveals a great deal about parties’ internal dynamics and organizational strategies and has implications for party cohesion and the performance of the political system. The way in which candidates are chosen also signals the degree of participation and internal democracy that exist within parties.

Despite its importance, there has been little study of the candidate selection process in Latin America. This groundbreaking work is an effort to fill that gap, although the author notes that further study is needed to refine the relationships among the variables discussed.

The text is divided into four parts: 

• An analytical framework for classification to facilitate an understanding of the various mechanisms that parties use to select candidates.
•  Analysis of the various factors that can condition candidate selection and the use of these mechanisms. 
• Examination of the methods that 44 parties in 16 Latin American countries use to select their presidential candidates. 
• The degree of inclusion or centralization implied by these processes, which leads to a discussion of the level of internal democracy in the parties.

Research paper- Internal democracy in political parties a must

The dissolution of political parties: The problem of internal democracy

Yigal Mersel^** Researcher, Hauser Global Program, and Emile Noel Fellow at the Jean Monnet Center, New York University. I wish to thank the NYU School of Law and Professor Joseph Weiler, as well as the Fulbright Foundation, for their support of this research project. Email:ym445@nyu.edu


In recent years, various democracies have faced the problem of nondemocratic political parties. In response, some have adopted the practice of the party ban. The main focus in existing jurisprudence has been on the external activities of these parties. In determining whether a political party is nondemocratic, attention has centered on the party's goals and practices. This judicial practice, manifest in different European constitutional courts as well as the European Court of Human Rights, is problematic. It often ignores an essential element in political parties, namely, their internal structures. This paper argues that political parties must be democratic not only externally, in their goals, but also democratic internally, in their organizational practices. The very interdependence between political parties and democracies should promote the parties' adherence not only to democratic goals and activities but also to democratic internal structures. This paper further argues that such internal democracy must be mandatory, and that, in rare cases, there is valid justification for banning political parties that lack internal democracy.