This section covers integrity
issues related to administration of the electoral process. Potential integrity
issues are identified for each step in electoral administration, from
organizing election management to publishing official results. Also included are
integrity mechanisms that may be used to address the issues that arise during
the various operations. The steps examined include: election management; voting
system; districting; election calendar planning; voter education; voter
registration; registration of parties, candidates and lobbyists; the electoral
campaign, including problems related to political financing; voting; counting
and tabulation; complaints and appeals; and announcement of official results.
Despite its technical nature,
election administration can become politicized. Control and manipulation of the
electoral apparatus are among the tools most often used by non-democratic governments
to ensure their continued success at the polls. In addition, electoral
administrators themselves may be suspected of acting in the interests of the
government, or a particular party or sector of society.
Inexperienced election
commissions may also be suspect. Their members may be little known or untested.
Seasoned politicians and parties may take advantage of this situation.
Distrust of the electoral
apparatus persists in many countries and is one of the main reasons for
instituting additional safeguards, particularly monitoring by political parties
and civil society. Distrust may also justify reinforcing the structure and
management of electoral administration, and has provided the impetus for
creating independent commissions. In the
words of one commentator:
“This distrustful attitude towards leviathan controlling of the
organization of elections explains today’s consensus on the need to have, at
the core of election management, an independent election commission, as well as
. . . independent election management bodies in new democracies.” [1]
For an election to be
perceived as free and fair, it must be administered professionally and
neutrally. A well-organized, credible electoral administration can dissuade
those opposed to the process from undertaking fraudulent or discriminatory
actions, and can help build trust in elections and electoral institutions.
[1] Schedler, Andreas, “Democracy by Delegation: The
Path-Dependent Logic of Electoral Reform in Mexico,” paper presented to the
annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Atlanta, Georgia,
September 2–5, 1999, p. 7
