ABSTRACT
Candidate and leadership selection methods are the intra-party, institutional mechanism by which parties select their candidates and leaders for the general elections. Candidate selection methods can be distinguished according to several dimensions (Ranney 1981; Gallagher and Marsh 1988; Rahat and Hazan 2001). This study focuses on the party selectorate – the body that selects the party leader and/or its candidates. Parties’ selectorates are classified according to their level of inclusiveness. At one extreme, the selectorate consists of the entire electorate of the nation, i.e. all citizens who are eligible to participate in the general elections. At the other extreme, the selectorate – or rather the selector – is a single party leader. Between these poles we can find various alternatives, from a relatively inclusive body of party members through selected party agencies and up to a small, exclusive nominating committee that is composed of just a few leaders. In party primaries, the focus of our research, party members’ votes decide the leadership contest, the party’s candidate in a single-member district, or the ranking of candidates in the party list for the general elections.
