The modern world is diverse, and despite the fact that all countries are united by a common territory, nation, and culture, there are still many differing opinions, goals, and standpoints within every separate country.
People form groups according to their beliefs and interests, all of them wish to take part in the political life of their country in their own way, and as soon as they find soul-mates and co-thinkers, they are able to form a more structured, massive representation profile to communicate their wishes to the state. Political parties are the tools for such representation and communication as they represent “a group of people united in opinion or action, more or less permanently organized”. Their main difference from any other organized group of people is that they are legally able to participate in the political life of the country and shape its course of action. It is hard to imagine a democratic country where no parties would exist. In case there is no diversity in opinion, one can state that the nation is either small and homogeneous (which is ideally possible but never met in practice) or numb and deprived of the opportunity to voice its opinion and call for change.
It has historically formed in such a way so that political parties are the elite group representing the opinions and wishes of their voters, who are ordinary people wishing to be heard in the national political arena. By choosing their leaders and representatives to the Parliament, municipal and provincial governments, people listen to the candidates’ speeches, their motives and aims in case of being elected, and choose whether these candidates will suit their individual wishes and aspirations concerning the political life of their country. The political parties have to be held accountable to their voters because in case their actions do not coincide with their promises, the parties risk losing their electorate and becoming weaker.
Political parties choose candidates for official positions in the country, and even the Prime Minister and members of the Cabinet, all members of the Parliament belong to some party detecting their political course. All political parties seek official representation in meaningful political positions to be able to influence public policies through the adoption of relevant changes to the legislation, administering reforms, and providing compliance with some regulations they are most interested in.