The requirement of a usually tight deadline to demonstrate that the candidacy meets all the requirements cannot be considered unfair, as long as the demands are not discriminative in any way. An electoral process requires the accomplishment of numerous tasks in the shortest possible periods of time, to ensure that the electoral period does not become exasperatingly drawn out. It is, therefore, necessary for the law to establish short periods, adapted to the social, administrative and political context, though, in which each one of the preparatory phases must be completed. For the same reason, very short periods are envisaged for the resolution of the appeals which may come up in any of the preclusive phases. A candidacy proposed beyond the deadline, must be taken as non-existent.
Elections take place among the candidacies that meet the requirements demanded at the set time.
An issue which is not merely formal is the denomination and the symbols of the candidacy. Therefore, improper use of the names of other political groups participating in the elections, as well as those that are so similar that they could lead to confusion among citizens, must be avoided. As a rule, candidacies proposed by political parties should bear their name, unless they form part of coalitions identified by another name. On the other hand, should candidacies try to formalise themselves with similar denominations, preference must be given to the party or coalition that had already been identified by it previously, whether it is because it is their own name or a name they were already using. In countries where there is a record of political parties, it should exclude those that are so similar that they might create confusion, and proof may be limited to showing prior registration of the name.