Are Party Primaries a Panacea for Female Political Representation in New Democracies? Evidence from Malawi

Research has asked whether party primaries – as compared to more centralized forms of candidate selection - enhance female political representation in new democracies. However, it has neglected to systematically study the effect of primary election quality. Candidate selection in new democracies is often characterized by a mismatch between formal rules and procedures implemented on the ground, leaving ample room for manipulation. We collect data via on-the-ground observation of 117 primary elections and 138 central, top-down selections (featuring 521 aspirants) in Malawi’s 2019 parliamentary election and interview candidates to study the relationship between primary election quality and the nomination of female candidates. We show that party primaries are not a panacea for female political representation when selection processes are poorly institutionalized leaving room for actors to manipulate them. However, where primary elections are clean, women are significantly more likely to become party nominees than where primaries are flawed or candidates are imposed by the party top. Thus, when determining which candidate selection methods increase women’s political representation, it is crucial to pay attention to the implementation and quality of such methods.