The integrity of political party is reflected by their system of values and its activities, system of values as a principles and goals that are structuring their program. Implementation of political party's program is led by their participation in governments, parliaments and by their candidates as a officials of those governments and parliaments. Candidates and officials are human resource that is crucial for political party and their political activity, and as in business human resource management has strong importance for political party. Integrity of human resource is related to integrity of political party and it can be achieved through candidate selection.
We live democracy and integrity of political parties is coherent with participating in democratic processes and candidate selection process represent a level of democracy in the party.
Analyzing this democratic character we can define two parts of processes, candidate proposal and selection of candidates for elections. First part of process is defined as strongly anonymous and and second one as selection is strongly transparent, public resulting that whole process is democracy in practice.
Ideals are theoretical definition, and ideal list of candidates for election too. If we can not have ideal list of candidates than we could find a model to make a best possible list of candidates through out some of the models. Voters are in focus for elections, political parties are looking for their vote and support for party candidates and their program. Members of the party are voters as well and above that they are lobbyists for the parties and party candidates so it is the best solution to ask them to suggest possible candidates for the list on democratic way involving as many as possible of them in the process of proposal and party candidates selection. Adding criteria that candidates need to fulfill, criteria that gives some guidelines to think about possible candidates and that will put in focus some candidates, some will eliminate but without discrimination, could be one of the best models of candidate proposal and selection list of candidates for elections.
Selection of candidates is one of the most important process in achieving party result on elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina. After the lists of candidates are announced media analyze them publishing a lot of materials about party lists because public have high interest in reading those materials. Political scene in Bosnia and Herzegovina is characterized by enormous number of political subjects, some of them are local, some exists only on cantons, some on the entities and district and some are on state level. All of them are looking for their voters and 3% census enables that many of that enormous number of political subjects are parliamentary on different levels of administrative units. Constitutionally and administrative system in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with local municipalities, cantons, entities, district and state level defined 13 governments and parliaments, local mayors and assemblies with the result of enormous number of officials that are actually party candidates with a mandate that belongs to themselves. Lot of parliamentary parties with candidates owning mandates defines our political scene torn apart and chaotic resulting that individuals are important in a process of forming governments. Led by individual interest or being in position to accept valuable offers as mandatory candidates in these circumstances there is strong dilemma about integrity as a system of values.
Potential solution could be in finding candidates that are representing system of values that party strives up and selection candidates that are characterized as those with honor, honesty, loyalty and sincerity as crucial elements of personal integrity. Selection of candidates with that profile needs a model that would process party to desired result. Text that follows up is about model in my local organization of party that resulted with best election results in past four elections.
Our local organization of Party of democratic action has its executive board and boards for every local community in our municipality with the president and members depending of its population. The same organization structure is for women and youth organization. Every member in this structure is included in the process of candidate proposal as active member of our party. Process of candidacy begins with the local organisation leadership informing meetings about forthcoming elections of party local organizations leadership, goals and expectations. Local party leadership informs members about profile of candidates that are defined by party criteria and guidelines that should be fulfilled. At the end of the informational part of the meeting and discussion party members got blank papers as a voting papers. Their votes are being collected in an empty voting box and it is process with every board in party structure, women and youth organization. After taking votes and collecting them from the members, commission for selection is summarizing it forming a rank list of candidates. Proceeding rank lists to the personnel commission is the next step in the process and personnel commission have jurisdiction to apply initially criteria and form list for executive board. At the meeting of executive board list is being discussed and every proposition for the list needs support of majority number of members of executive board as also the propose of the final list. Majority have a final decision and the process of candidate selection and list of candidates ends with this final decision of executive board.
Transparency of this process is positive and most valuable determination of candidate selection process and it increases confidence in party members, human resources and fans. Integrity of candidates is being stronger reflecting it on the lists for election because confidence of voters and members base in candidates has been confirmed through candidate selection process. Party and candidates needs motivated activists for political campaign and confidential candidates that were selected through this process with integrity will be that motivating factor. This is important because parties and candidates are approaching to voters through their activists and results of election are based on that campaign as a vital activity.
If we were looking for eventual negativity about this model of selection it could be in forming interest groups mutually supported to achieve personal interests and it could end up with some animosities between groups. To prevent and control this risk we use rigid anonymity in voting.
In practice this model has shown great results with our party achieving success on elections. First elections in 2014. that we took participation were successful for our party and we got majority of votes with win over party that had majority to the moment of those elections. Our party with this approach continues to win in every of next elections held in 2016., 2018. and 2020. As also candidates of our party got enormous number of preferentially votes for the first time in party's history meaning that they were over census of elections law for progressing on the list they were initially positioned.
Candidates and list of candidates represent the party itself, basis, strategies and platforms party function on and what it tends to be. Candidates represent party integrity through personal and professional integrity. Previous statements lead us to the conclusion of importance of candidate selection process and model of that process because integrity of the party has been left over to candidates, their character and background, their experience and reputation, their knowledge and skills that are recognized in community and in the mind of voters. Statement that integrity of candidate selection process defines candidates that are representing integrity of the party is best conclusion about importance of integrity in candidate selection.
