What is the difference between primary and general election?

An election can be defined as the process of choosing a leader, members of the legislative arm of government, councilors, or other representatives by majority vote. The election is not only limited to the type used in politics. A poll can also be conducted to elect leaders in the private sector or organizations. However, election requires a lot of processes which must be duly followed to ensure fairness and orderliness. Primary and general election are two types of election.

The primary election is conducted to reduce the total number of people contesting for a particular post. In politics, different political parties will first conduct an internal election to elect someone that will represent them in the general election. A primary election can also be called an internal election. And in this type of election, only the followers of a particular political party participate in the exercise. The general election, on the other hand, is the type in which all citizens who have met the voting requirements can participate. This type of election is meant for all representatives of each political party chosen at the party level to participate.