A constitution is the supreme
law of any country. It provides the legal framework for the government,
designates the powers and duties of the branches of government or governmental
agencies, and establishes the relationship between the people and the
government. It enunciates the basic rights and obligations of citizens, and
usually establishes the basis for the country’s electoral system. The integrity
of elections can be strengthened by entrenching the principle of universal
suffrage in the constitution, setting the frequency of elections and specifying
the basic eligibility criteria for major
elective offices and for citizens to register to vote. A constitution generally
guarantees the basic political freedoms needed for competitive elections, such
as freedom of speech, association, assembly, movement and expression (including
the press).
It is important for the
drafters of the constitution to take into consideration the capacity and
conditions of the country. For example, an overly short interval between
elections might be burdensome for less developed countries. The constitution
normally determines the overall system for electing candidates to national
offices. In the case of parliamentary elections, a basic decision is whether to
adopt a proportional or a majoritarian system – viz., whether to elect candidates from lists submitted by political
parties, with the winners to be determined by their party’s relative proportion
of the vote; or of individual candidates who contest elections in geographical
districts.
A constitution may also authorize
various institutions to undertake specific electoral or related functions. For
example, it may establish an independent commission to administer elections, or
assign specific electoral functions to standing government bodies. It may also assign adjudicatory power over
electoral disputes to the regular judicial system or a special court (such as a
constitutional court or special electoral tribunal).
