Accountability is another important aspect of election integrity. Elections are, after all, the main means by which citizens hold their elected officials accountable. In turn, electoral administrators and policy makers are held accountable for the quality of electoral process they administer.

The public deserves to know whether government funds are being handled in accordance with laws and regulations, whether electoral agencies are achieving the expected results, and whether they are operating economically and efficiently.  Electoral administrators should use public resources for official purposes and are accountable for the use of those funds.

Electoral officials are also responsible for the specific decisions they make during the course of the electoral process, as well as for the consequences of those decisions. They are responsible for the details of election administration as well as the effective functioning of the overall electoral process. Electoral managers themselves must comply with all laws and regulations, and strive to ensure that the procedures they operate and supervise are also in accordance with the norms.

Electoral accountability in turn depends on transparency – the ability of election participants to acquire full information about electoral processes and the decisions that were made to put them into place and how to operate them.  Absolute transparency is also essential to preserve the credibility of the electoral process, and to eliminate confusion, doubt and suspicions about its various aspects.

Accountability of officials usually includes requirements to report on their actions to official oversight agencies, funding sources and other major stakeholders. Regular monitoring and through audits of financial and performance reports can be used to ensure accountability.

Other, non-official participants in the electoral process can also be held accountable for their activities.  Political parties, candidates and their agents are accountable for how they conduct themselves during the electoral process. Observers are accountable for how they observe and report.

A few countries grant immunity to elected or public officials. In the case of electoral officials and other officials exercising related functions, that cannot eliminate the State’s obligation to provide the conditions for free and fair elections and to respond to and correct abuses.  (Recall that the ICCPR provides that persons whose recognized rights (including electoral rights under Article 25 thereof) are violated “shall have an effective remedy, notwithstanding that the violation has been committed by persons acting in an official capacity”.[1]  It also may be advisable to review the immunity of public officials more generally in order to ensure that it does not conflict with their accountability or undermine the integrity of the electoral process.