This draft/sandbox article is taken from Wikipedia talk:Notability_(organizations_and_companies)#Political_Parties...?
A number of editors will be invited to comment, and a tag will be placed above. You can join in at User talk:Doktorbuk/pp
Following such AfDs for Money Reform Party and the now deleted Pride in Paisley Party, it seems that Wiki does not have a firm and absolute policy on the notability of political groups and parties. Now, for the most part, in my opinion, any policy will not effect the Republican Party or the Labour Party or UMP or the Austrlian Labor Party...What we are dealing with here are the small, the protest votes, the newly formed groups and such like.
From the discussions already had, I would like to outline a Wiki policy on the notablity of parties. Luckily I think we escape the shortcode being WP:POLPOT but only just...Anyway, my "five golden rules" are as follows...
I would love feedback and discussion on this subject, before I post the results over for wider "Peer review"
Draft proposal on Notability of Political Party Articles
Without prejudice to existing notability articles, Wikipedia editors should take heed of the following provisions/clauses when dealing with articles about political parties, or political "lists" where appropriate.
Amendments will be made when felt appropriate following dicussion at the talk page
- The Electoral Clause – Political parties which have or have had representation in national or regional assemblies should be regarded as notable. Election to tertiary level assemblies should be taken on merit, with reference to the other clauses. The fact that a party has fielded unsuccessful candidates is by itself not enough for that party to be deemed as notable, but having fielded a very large number of candidates (in constituency systems) or having attained a substantial portion of the vote (while failing to get any members elected) is sufficient.
- The Lineage Clause – A party which is the de jure/de facto precursor of, or de jure/de facto successor to a party which meets the electoral clause is notable, although any article should contain enough material to avoid being merged into its "parent"/"child".
- The Campaign Clause – A party that has an indisputable, clear, and certain importance in a state's political, cultural or social history, is regarded as notable. This notability must be based upon an external, verifiable, published, reliable source which prove the party's importance. Parties with no electoral success can still be regarded as notable if they have 2 years of proven campaigning experience. This also includes notable pressure or para-military groups which claim to be political parties, but may not be electorally active.
- The Person Clause – A party which is launched or helped launch by a person who meets the wikipedia notability criteria for people, should be given a place within that person's article until such time as it satisfies other clauses in its own right.
| Clause | Description | Issues | Possible solutions |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Electoral Clause | Political parties which have or have had representation in national or regional assemblies should be regarded as notable. Election to tertiary level assemblies should be taken on merit, with reference to the other clauses. The fact that a party has fielded unsuccessful candidates is by itself not enough for that party to be deemed as notable, but having fielded a very large number of candidates (in constituency systems) or having attained a substantial portion of the vote (while failing to get any members elected) is sufficient. | It is easier to elect candidates from small parties in some electoral systems compared to others. This clause would make some less significant parties notable in such systems | Create different notability guidelines for different electoral systems/regions |
| The Lineage Clause | A party which is the de jure/de facto precursor of, or de jure/de facto successor to a party which meets the electoral clause is notable, although any article should contain enough material to avoid being merged into its "parent"/"child" | If being the child of a notable party makes a second party notable then being the child of the now-notable second party will make a third party notable. This could create a long chain of notable party articles based solely on the notability of 1 article | Tighten the clause to avoid more than 1 generational leap of notability. Remove the clause entirely in favour of the philosophy that if the second party article cannot achieve notability on its own then it should merge with its notable relative. |
| The Campaign Clause | A party that has an indisputable, clear, and certain importance in a state's political, cultural or social history, is regarded as notable. This notability must be based upon an external, verifiable, published, reliable source which prove the party's importance. Parties with no electoral success can still be regarded as notable if they have 2 years of proven campaigning experience. This also includes notable pressure or para-military groups which claim to be political parties, but may not be electorally active. | The 2 year rule may be too open. A party that campaigns in a tertiary-level election 1 year then a secondary-level election the next would be considered notable even if they failed to get any votes | Tighten the 2 year rule. |
| The Person Clause | A party which is launched or helped launch by a person who meets the wikipedia notability criteria for people, should be given a place within that person's article until such time as it satisfies other clauses in its own right | No issues identified at this stage | |
| The Registration Insufficiency Clause | The fact that a party has registered as a party is not enough for that party to be deemed as notable, unless that registration was difficult to obtain | What context is used to justify whether a registration was difficult to achieve? | Consider for inclusion in region/electoral-system specific notability criteria/Consider merging registration and campaigning causes together, creating reserached/referenced minor parties article |
| The Failure Insufficiency Clause | The fact that a party has fielded unsuccessful candidates is by itself not enough for that party to be deemed as notable, but having fielded a substantial proportion of the candidates, or having attained a substantial proportion of the vote, is sufficient | "substantial proportion" is a little vague | Try to tighten the definition or leave the vague area as a subjective decision for editors |
| Alliance Clause | A party which is a formal ally of a party that meets the electoral clause is notable, although any article should contain enough material to avoid being merged into its founder/co-founder. This includes all parties that are formal and full members of international party federations or parties at the European level | In countries with fluctuating coalitions this clause could spread notability from one or two parties to all parties within the electoral system, thereby invalidating the purpose of setting criteria for notability. A similar problem could occur if this clause is combined with "The Lineage Clause" | Consider for inclusion in region/electoral-system specific notability criteria |