Internal Democracy and Rights for Members of Political Parties

The internal democratization of political parties is an inescapable requirement for the proper functioning of the political system, not because Article 6 of the Constitution says so, but because, if such internal democratization does not come about, there is a risk that the citizens will become definitively disillusioned with "parties" as an instrument and we will have no alternative models, at least in a democratic sense. In spite of the recurrent comment about a crisis in political parties, they continue to be the most adequate mechanism of association for channeling the multiplicity of political options in society and democratically structuring the central government's institutions of political power. That it why it is necessary to continue expanding the internal democratization of political parties and fully respect, within each party, the constitutional rights of their members, since they represent the initial moment of the process of democratic participation in politics. The constitutional requirement that political parties function internally in a democratic manner and that there be public financing of political parties should entail full respect within the parties of the fundamental rights that make up Spanish democracy, i.e., all those rights and freedoms from Title I that may be exercised within a political party by the direct application of Article 6 of the Constitution. Such rights and freedoms are not conditioned to their mere reflection in a law implementing the content of the article of the Constitution or in the by-laws of the party. In this sense, the 2002 Implementing Act on Political Parties represents only a minimal advance vis-a-vis the previous legislation and a very limited implementation of the provisions of the Constitution. A more detailed application of central aspects of internal democracy is still lacking in matters such as the method for voting for the executive positions of the party, where the article clearly favors open primaries. With respect to member rights, the author advocates recognition of full validity of civil rights within each party, especially, as regards procedure, those enshrined in Articles 24 and 25 of the Constitution. Existing case law on the subject is also reflected, from that of the Constitutional Court down to that of the provincial criminal courts.