Boundary Delimitation —

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Topic IndexBoundary Delimitation

It is common in many countries—especially those that follow the Commonwealth tradition such as Australia, Botswana, Canada and India—for the electoral legal framework to create a separate body or commission to assume responsibility for boundary delimitation. Countries where the EMB takes responsibility for boundary delimitation include Indonesia, Nigeria and Uganda. In Barbados and Belize, the EMB is called the Electoral and Boundaries Commission. In some examples, such as in Australia, the boundary delimitation authority, while separate from the EMB, includes the senior EMB secretariat and may be supported by staff deputed from the EMB. There are countries such as the United States in which the electoral law assigns responsibility for boundary delimitation to the legislature. However, this practice can easily lead to the imposition of electoral district boundaries that are favourable to the current majority party in the legislature, thus institutionalizing their hold on power.

There are operational and cost-effectiveness advantages of an EMB taking responsibility for electoral district boundary delimitation. Boundary delimitation is, however, a politically divisive issue, and leaves an EMB open to attack by those who perceive the results as not serving their interests. Some electoral analysts therefore argue that boundary delimitation is best handled by a body other than an EMB, in order to shield it from potential politically motivated attacks that may damage the EMB’s credibility.