Area code (politics)

In a primary election , a candidate who usually belongs to a political party is chosen for a later regular election . Among the various forms of political candidate nomination, the area code differs from more exclusive procedures such as the nomination of a candidate by the party leadership or the election by a delegate assembly in that a broader group of people is eligible to participate in the selection of candidates.

US primaries

The best known are primaries in the United States , where primaries are used to find candidates within the party for all important political offices and mandates. In a special process, the presidential election in the United States , the country's two major national parties (Democrats and Republicans) nominate their presidential candidates , usually from January to June of the election year in votes in the states , in the District of Columbia and in the outlying areas , most recently in 2016 with this result . Some elections ( primaries ) and some assemblies ( caucuses ) are held. A distinction is also made between open and closed primaries, depending on whether only members of the respective party or all voters in a voting area are allowed to participate.

Area codes in other countries

Germany

There are also discussions in Germany about future candidates for election to high political offices (e.g. that of the Federal Chancellor ) by means of primaries.

The proponents hope that this will result in a greater participation of citizens in the democratic process as well as greater recognition of the future office holder.

Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen was the first party in Germany to select its top candidate for the 2013 federal election through a primary election .

Italy

An area code was held in Italy on October 16, 2005 to elect the head of the left-wing alliance. The turnout was unexpectedly high and the winner (with about three quarters of the vote) was Romano Prodi .

France

In France , the Parti Socialiste held primary elections to determine the presidential candidate several times: in 1995 and 2006 (for the 2007 election ) only party members were entitled to vote. In 2011 (for the 2012 election ) all citizens were entitled to vote in the primary election ( Primaires Citoyennes ), provided that they committed to the values ​​of the left and paid a contribution of at least one euro.

Japan

In Japan , different forms of primaries for the election of the chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) have long been anchored in the party statutes. Because of the dominant position of the LDP, the election before 2009 usually decided on who would be the prime minister . However, the nominally planned primaries among members and supporters of the party were mostly replaced by closed negotiations between factions or votes among members of the parliament. The Democratic Party , the second largest until 2016 , nominally used a similar process , but it was also rarely used.

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Latin America

In some Latin American countries, such as the Dominican Republic , area codes are based on the US model. Uruguay has had primaries for the individual candidates for the presidential election since 1999 (see primaries 1999 , 2004 and 2014 ).

literature

General

• Heinrich Neisser (Ed.): Primaries and nomination of candidates in an international comparison. Signum, Vienna 1992, ISBN 3-85436-129-7 .
• Giulia Sandri (Ed.): Party primaries in comparative perspective. Ashgate, Farnham et al. 2015, ISBN 978-1-4724-5038-8 .

Country-specific

• Sven T. Siefken: primaries in Germany? Consequences of candidate selection based on the US model. In: Journal for Parliamentary Issues . Vol. 33, 2002, H. 3, pp. 531-550.
• Marty Cohen: The party decides. Presidential nominations before and after reform (= Chicago studies in American politics. ). University of Chicago Press, Chicago 2008, ISBN 0-226-11237-3 .
• Elaine C. Kamarck: Primary politics. How presidential candidates have shaped the modern nominating system. Brookings Institution Press, Washington, DC 2009, ISBN 978-0-8157-0292-4 .
• Robert G. Boatright: Congressional primary elections. Routledge, New York et al. 2014, ISBN 978-0-415-74199-6 .

Web links

Wiktionary: Area code  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

• Andreas Gross : Primaries: America's democracy is much better than its reputation. In: Die Welt , April 17, 2016 (on the function and history of the primaries in the USA).
• Thomas Gutschker: A new kind of election campaign: primaries soon also in Germany? In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , December 17, 2016 (on the establishment of primaries in France and possible effects on Germany).

supporting documents

1. ^ Spiegel Online: “Alle Macht der Basis” , September 2, 2012, accessed on September 2, 2012