Holding an election can be very
costly. Staff must be recruited, trained and equipped. Offices have to be
rented and set up. Voters, parties and candidates need to be registered. Voter
lists and ballots have to be printed and distributed to every polling site in
the country. Polling stations need to be opened and staffed. Votes must be
collected and counted. All these tasks require personnel, communications
systems, transportation, equipment, supplies and operating funds.
Integrity
Problems Caused by Lack of Funds
An adequate budget to
administer electoral law contributes to election
integrity. Lack of funds may compromise all aspects of electoral
administration. The independence of the electoral management body depends on
the availability of sufficient funds at the proper time. Integrity problems may
result from delayed or insufficient funding include:
- Security safeguards may
be cut to save money. For example, the electoral management body may forego
using watermarked paper on ballots, or printing serial numbers on voter
registration cards or ballot stubs.
- Electoral materials may
be distributed via transportation methods that are less expensive but also
less secure or reliable; examples include using employees’ own vehicles or
hiring less dependable firms. Lower-quality materials may be used that
will not last through the election period. Copy machines or printers may
not have the capacity to handle the volume required.
- The performance of
underpaid or unpaid election workers will be weaker. Underpaid workers may
be forced to hold two jobs to make ends meet, lowering their productivity.
They may also seek to make up their salary shortfall by accepting
gratuities.
- Physical security for the
campaign, voting and other critical electoral events may be substandard.
Election security costs are often covered under a different budget, such
as the police budget. A lack of funds could mean that police forces do not
have the transportation or communications systems needed, or that there
are not enough security personnel to ensure a safe election.
Good planning and systems can
help overcome budget constraints. There are cost-effective solutions to all
problems. At the same time, elections cannot be conducted as required by law
without good planning and the necessary funding.
Integrity
Problems Caused by the Source of Funds
The source of funds may be an
integrity issue. The election management body is usually funded in the
government’s regular budget. It should be allocated enough funds to hold
elections as required. With an assured budget and funds available on a timely
basis, the election management body will have the financial independence it
needs to hold an election. In India,
for example, the Election Commission’s secretariat has an independent budget
set by agreement between the Commission and the Ministry of Finance.
Unfortunately, some election management bodies, especially in less developed
countries, have to compete for government resources and may not receive sufficient
funding.
Sometimes the electoral
management body is allocated enough funds in the government budget, but the
funds are administered through a particular ministry or government agency. The
result is that the election management body becomes dependent on that
organization. For the 1998 Cambodian
legislative elections, funds were allocated in the government budget but were
released piecemeal by the Ministry of Finance, making it difficult for the
National Elections Committee to be established. Committee members commenced
electoral administration process by using their salaries to cover running
costs, such as electricity bills and paper for copy machines.
The international community
may provide election funding to countries undergoing a transition to democracy
or developing countries. Donor funding is usually conditioned on the holding of
free and fair elections, and is tied to the funding cycle of each donor
country. This may sometimes give rise to funding shortages at critical times.
In some systems, the election
management body is allowed to receive funds or other resources from other
sources, such as prominent citizens or groups. However, accepting private
funding may lead to the perception that money buys influence. Electoral
administrators can counter misperceptions by disclosing the names of donors and
ensuring that they receive no special treatment. Private funding is prohibited
by law in certain countries.
