In Algeria, Botswana, Iceland, Lesotho, Niue and Tonga, the legislature determines the EMB’s budget as part of the annual budget process, using past expenses and reports as the basis for setting the funding level. In the Philippines, the Department of Budget and Management determines the budget for public bodies.
It is common for EMBs to create their own budget and then submit it for approval. In some cases the budget goes to the government for approval (for instance Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Chad), while it more commonly goes to the legislature for approval (for instance Bolivia, Brazil, Gambia, Guam, Guyana, Mexico, Mongolia, Pakistan and Venezuela). The budget creation and approval process may include discussion with the finance ministry. For instance in South Korea, the EMB creates the budget, which is then adjusted by the Ministry of Planning and Budget and considered for approval by the legislature. In some countries, such as Costa Rica, the legislature has no power to alter or reject any part of the proposed EMB budget (see the case study on page 93). In other countries, only specified parts of the EMB’s proposed budget (e.g. dealing with members’ salaries and allowances) cannot be altered by the executive or its agencies.
In some countries, the EMB budget has two parts: the recurrent budget, which covers costs such as permanent staff and related material support; and the elections budget, which covers additional expenses directly related to an election or referendum. The recurrent budget may be altered by the government, while the elections budget may not. The EMB provides an annual estimate of its elections budget to the government, but is allowed to spend more than this estimate. Following the election, the EMB accounts for these expenditures to a legislative committee. Such dual budgets are used in Cameroon, Georgia, Liberia, Madagascar and Rwanda.
