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EMB Members: Respected Experts or Watchdogs for Each Other?

In countries where the Independent or Mixed Model is used, electoral legislation specifies the framework for EMB membership. There are myriad different legal provisions that govern this critical issue. A basic difference is between a multiparty-based EMB and an expert-based EMB. Broadly, a multiparty-based model assumes that decisions are often political and allows each political party to choose some of the members, on the assumption that each will ensure that decisions do not unduly favour other parties. By contrast, an expert-based model assumes that decisions are primarily legal or technical and seeks people with the expertise to deal with these issues competently.