Looking for a Healthy Mix? The Impact of Selection Methods on Candidates’ Characteristics: The Case of Political Experience

Political parties in Belgium are free to decide on their candidate selection methods. Hence, one could wonder whether candidate selection modes impact the kinds of candidates selected. This article aims at uncovering to what extent intraparty features matter for features of the political elite at large, in particular whether candidates are experienced in politics. This research analyses the mechanisms of candidate selection for 189 electoral lists submitted by eleven Belgian parties for the 2014 regional, federal and European election. With the aim of running a quantitative analysis of candidates’ characteristics substantiated by a qualitative analysis of selection processes, the article draws on party statutes, interviews with selectors and career data on electoral candidates. It demonstrates the significance of selectorates for determining the characteristics of candidates who run for office, and accordingly the kind of representatives who will pass the laws – outsiders or insiders to our representative democracies’ systems.