Legitimacy

Legitimacy means more than legality, that the election followed the rules, as it also acknowledges acceptance of a duty of respect or obedience.  If a ruling body has legitimacy it means that it has the authority to make decisions for the society and that people will obey the rules and directives.

Max Weber, one of the founding writers in the field of sociology, described three forms of authority: traditional, charismatic and legal-rational.  A traditional leader has authority because they were chosen in the way that leaders have always been chosen, for instance through heredity or by a council of elders or the most successful hunter.  A charismatic leader gains power based upon their own personality and ability to win personal support and following.  Democratic societies have legal-rational authority as the authority of government comes from the fact that their power derives from clearly and legally defined rules.

David Beetham argues that legitimacy based on legal rules needs more than just the rules.  Building on some aspects of traditional authority, he argues that in order to be accepted as legitimate, the rules must be based upon and derive from societal values and norms.  For this reason laws need to be reviewed periodically as societal values can change, for instance changing views on the role of women led to changes in the law so that women could vote.  The third component that Beetham stresses is that the rules be used by the people and followed.  For example, if political parties generally ignored expenditure limits or rules about donations, then the legitimacy of the election may be weakened.  Likewise, if few people voted then the legitimacy of the election might be questioned.

Responsibility for ensuring that a government has the legitimacy to govern, derived from a free and fair election, is widely shared.  The elections management body (EMB) has a central role in ensuring that the election is held in a way that meets the rules, but others also have to obey those rules.  In particular, candidates, parties, other organisations that may wish to influence voters, the media and voters alike must obey the rules.  Rules must also be respected to aid legitimacy.  If the incumbent government or a party or part of the media constantly criticises the election laws, the way that the election is being run, or the validity of the count, this can damage legitimacy.  Of course such issues must be raised if the rules are not being followed, because all have a responsibility to observe the election and check that all involved follow the rules.