A parlamenti képviselők jelölésének elméleti és pártszervezeti kérdései Magyarországon
The article offers an analysis of the candidate selection procedure of four parliamentary parties: the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP), the Alliance of Free Democrats (SZDSZ), the Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF), and the Alliance of Young Democrats (FIDESZ) in the 1994 parliamentary elections. Candidate selection is initially put is the general party framework, then more concrete issues of party organization and their interrelatedness with, candidate selection are focussed on.
As a result of party institutionalization, the number of direct as well as list candidates increased in 1994 in comparison to the 1990 general elections. There was a large turnout, however, both among candidates and elected MPs. The majority of incumbents lost their seats, and weak party identification of the electorate, together with weak MP- constituency links caused substantial changes in the parliamentary party framework.
All the four parties, covered in the analysis, sought to run candidates who had close ties with the constituency. Also, a professional background and solid expertise were regarded as advantages. In the selection of direct candidates, the constituency party organizations enjoyed a paramount importance, and the whole process was decentralized and relatively well institutionalized, while central party authorities had a larger, although not exclusive, role in the selection of list candidates. The party leaders considered the selection process an important element of the party’s activity. As a contrast, the electorate did not seem to take, the characteristics of candidates seriously. Nevertheless, there is a general agreement among party leaderships that the importance of candidate selection will further grow in parallel with the consolidation of the party and political scene. We can conclude that the level of the external and internal institutionalization of the parties have a major effect on the procedure and the intensity of candidate selection.