Electoral costs
can be divided into three categories:[1]
- core
costs (or direct
costs)—routinely associated with implementing an electoral process in a stable
electoral environment;
- diffuse
costs (or indirect
costs)—relating to electoral services that cannot be disentangled from the
general budgets of agencies that assist with the implementation of an electoral
process; and
- integrity
costs—necessary to
provide security, integrity, political neutrality and a level playing field for
an electoral process.
Inadequate
funding, financing and budgeting will not necessarily trigger violence directly.
Inadequate resources may. however, force EMBs to make compromises that can
impact on the integrity and security of electoral processes and thus open them
up for disputes that can in turn fuel and trigger violent conflicts. For
example, core cost deficiencies may affect an electoral process’s
technical integrity; lack of diffuse funds will limit
the engagement of supporting agencies, especially those with the task of
providing security; and a lack of integrity funds at the
disposal of an EMB may harm the legitimacy of the process.
“Economic
violence is also recognized among forms of non-physical violence. This type of
violence includes being denied funds that an individual is entitled to during
their term of office or political campaign; being denied other resources an
individual is entitled to in connection with their political office or campaign
(offices, computers, staff, salary); harm or threats to harm a business,
termination, or threat of termination of employment.”[2]
[2] Bardall, G. “Violence, Politics and Gender”. Contentious Politics and Political Violence. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of
Politics. Feb. 2018, pp6
