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Acandidate, ornominee, is a prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position. For example, one can be a candidate for membership in agroup orelection to anoffice, in which case acandidate selection occurs.
"Nomination" is part of the process of selecting a candidate for either election to an office by a political party,[1] or the bestowing of an honor or award. This person is called a "nominee",[2] though "nominee" is often used interchangeably with "candidate". A presumptive nominee is a person or organization whose nomination is considered inevitable or highly likely. The phenomenon of being a candidate in a race for either a party nomination or for electoral office is called "candidacy".[3] The term "presumptive candidate" may be used to describe someone who is predicted to be a formal candidate.
Candidate is a derivative of theLatincandidus (‘shining white’).[4] Inancient Rome,men seeking political office would usually wear thetoga candida, atoga chalked and bleached to be bright white atspeeches,debates,conventions, and other publicfunctions.[5]
Individuals who wish to be received into themembership of theCatholic Church who have beenbaptized in anothermainstream Christian denomination are known ascandidates; their reception into the Catholic Church is done through aprofession of faith, followed by the reception ofHoly Communion andConfirmation. In contrast, those persons who have never received the sacrament of baptism are, as a matter of Catholiccanon law, considered non-Christians and if they are preparing to become a member of the Catholic Church (through the church process called theChristian Initiation of Adults, they are known ascatechumens.[6]
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In the context of elections forpublic office in a representational partisan democracy, a candidate who has been selected by apolitical party is normally said to be the nominee of that party. The party's selection (that is, the nomination) is typically accomplished either based on one or moreprimary elections according to the rules of the party and any applicable electionlaws.[1]
Candidates are called "incumbents" if they are already serving in the office for which they are seeking re-election, or "challengers", if they are seeking to replace an incumbent.
In the context of elections for public office in adirect democracy, a candidate can be nominated by any eligible person—and if parliamentary procedures are used, the nomination has to be seconded, i.e., receive agreement from a second person.
InGerman politics, the person at the head of anelectoral list is called theSpitzenkandidat ("lead candidate"). By convention, this means that this person (normally theparty leader) will be elected to lead the government if their party wins the election. Various other countries with a parliamentary democracy have the same system.
In 2014, the major groups represented in theEuropean Parliament and theEuropean Council agreed to apply this process to determine the nextPresident of the European Commission, as a way of the Council "taking account of the results of the European Parliament election" as required by the Union treaties. This led to the appointment and confirmation ofJean-Claude Juncker.[7]
InGerman federal elections [de], parties nominate a "Chancellor candidate".
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