In some countries, the EMB has legal powers to regulate the electoral framework either by enacting new laws or making rules and regulations which complement existing principal legislation. Such an arrangement is time effective and allows for speedy amendment of the legal framework. For example, the EMB of Uruguay can make decisions and dictate actions which cannot be reviewed by any other branch of the government. This means that the EMB has legislative powers (making laws which govern elections), judicial powers (reviewing and interpreting laws with binding effect), and implementation powers for the laws and norms it has enacted.

A more usual practice is for the EMB, particularly Independent Model EMBs, to be empowered to make reviewable regulations filling in the detail of concepts contained in the law, or filling existing gaps in the law. For Governmental Model EMBs, this power may be held by the Ministry within which the EMB is located. Such regulations in most countries are subject to review, generally by a court or constitutional court, to test whether they are within the powers of the EMB (or Ministry) to make, and whether they are otherwise consistent with the law.

In countries such as Fiji and Yemen, the EMBs have powers to make regulations to facilitate their mandate, including the conduct of elections. In Namibia, the EMB has the power to issue proclamations which by law must be gazetted and which cover issues such as political parties’ code of conduct, some procedural issues on voter registration, and parties’ disclosure of foreign donations. The Indonesian EMB has specific regulatory powers in some critical areas, including boundary delimitation, voter registration, candidate registration, conduct of election campaigns, campaign funding reporting, and voting processes.

Many EMBs have powers to formulate administrative policies and directions on operational issues such as their relationships with their own staff (on issues such as gender equality, affirmative action, performance management, and staff development) and external stakeholders. These external stakeholders include government ministries – including the Finance Ministry –, the legislature, political parties, civil society organisations, and the media.

Unlike regulations, which by law must be issued publicly, the EMB may have no legal obligation to publicize administrative directives and policies, though it is always good practice for it to do so. It is important that the EMB consult its stakeholders when formulating new policies or reviewing old ones, in order to foster stakeholder awareness and buy-in.