Administrative regulations are issued by electoral authorities to regulate
specific managerial issues in an agile and simple way. Such regulations are
more flexible than legislative procedures.
During elections, a lot of managerial issues have to be solved in an urgent
way within short deadlines.
Electoral laws do not have to regulate such topics, which can change from
election to election.
Administrative regulations complement electoral laws, and they have to be
issued by electoral authorities in charge of undertaking elections from an
executive point of view. Electoral authorities empowered to oversee electoral
actions have to review the regulatory amendments. There are many
electoral structures empowered to undertake such a task. Usually, such
structures have to be independent and permanent.In countries with independent
electoral authorities, such authorities are empowered to issue administrative
regulations. The aim in those countries is to prevent the existence of
insufficient regulations. Administrative regulations allow electoral authorities
to regulate specific topics such as how political parties have to file their
reports, how to handle candidates’ registry, electoral campaigns, electoral
advertisement, election day, and so on.
There remains however an advantage where electoral legislation specifically
addresses the matter of administrative regulation. Specifying the regulation
making power of the electoral authority and defining the circumstances, nature
and extent of that authority as well as stipulating publication of regulations
and an efficient and timely hearing of complaints are useful inclusions in
statute. After all, while there is a
place for regulation making in support of electoral legislation there must also
be limits so that the electoral authority, “does not act as a substitute
legislator.”[i]
[i] International IDEA, International Electoral Standards, 16.
