Expert-based or non-party-based EMBs are those that the legal framework requires to be made up of individuals appointed on the basis of their professional standing. In some cases, members of an expert-based EMB may be nominated by political parties or civil society, but this does not imply that they will be directed by their nominating parties or act in a partisan manner. In Mexico, although the EMB is a permanent body with 11 expert voting members, each political group in the legislature and each national political party also provides one non-voting representative.
Qualifications to be a member of an expert-based EMB may include impartiality, a minimum age, professional qualifications and electoral knowledge. Expert- based EMB members are often eminent public figures renowned for political neutrality who have expertise in fields such as law, public administration, political science or the media. Expert-based EMBs are found in countries such as Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Costa Rica, India, Indonesia, Poland, Thailand and Ukraine. The law in many of these countries stipulates that EMB members must not have been active in party politics in the recent past, and must not be a political party member while serving as a member of the EMB. Nevertheless, in highly politicized situations, nominees may be seen as friendly to a particular party or faction, and there may be the perception that the parties have divided the positions between them rather than choose impartial members who are acceptable to all.
One common form of the expert-based model is judicial EMBs. In Brazil, for example, elections are the responsibility of national and state electoral tribunals, which are considered a specialized segment of the judicial branch, comprising judges of various categories along with a small number of expert lawyers; below the tribunals, regular judges are detailed for a short time to oversee electoral preparations and operations in each electoral district. The EMBs of Costa Rica and Guatemala are also judicial; all of their members are judges.
