While the EMB has a key role to play in all electoral reform, it may not be in a position to implement reform without the support of its key stakeholders — particularly the government, legislature and political parties. This is a significant reason for EMBs to maintain a strong relationship with their stakeholders (see Chapter 8).
An EMB can only implement legal reform within the established legal framework agreed by the government and legislature. However, an EMB may have a key research, review and advocacy role in promoting electoral legal reform, which can be guided by the criteria detailed in International IDEA’s publication International Obligations for Elections: Guidelines for Legal Frameworks. Electoral legal reform can be assisted by establishing an appropriate permanent body of the legislature to monitor electoral activities and recommend electoral reforms to the government. Effective legal electoral reform depends on a multiparty approach in the legislature that subordinates political advantage to ethical electoral principles and good practice.
An EMB has more control over the implementation of administrative reforms, and can implement them more effectively, if it formally adopts a continuous review and reform process within its management policies. However, legal and administrative reforms often need to be synchronized to optimize their effectiveness. In Australia, for example, while the EMB has modernized its election procedures extensively, reform of the election machinery has not kept pace.
Unless an EMB maintains a process for reviewing its administrative strategies, policies, procedures and practices, it will become less effective, as it will have no mechanism to deal with change in its legal, stakeholder, technological, financial and social environments.
Political and legal reform issues related to electoral processes are often strongly associated. As with legal reform, EMBs do not control political reform, although again they can play a research and advocacy role, and cultivate support among key stakeholders.
Key steps for an EMB to consider in proposing and implementing electoral reforms include:
- assigning responsibilities to specific members or staff, including at the senior level, for the development, advocacy and implementation of electoral reforms;
- implementing effective processes, including post-electoral audits and evaluations, for reviewing the electoral framework and implementing electoral processes;
- consulting with stakeholders to ascertain their views on required reforms and to enlist their support for the EMB’s reform programme;
- making submissions to the government and legislature on desired electoral reforms;
- publicizing desired electoral reforms through the media and use of stakeholder networks;
- developing an electoral reform implementation strategy; and
- evaluating the effects of electoral reforms.
One challenge for EMBs is building up the skill base needed to drive electoral reforms. Well-established bodies typically have staff with a strong understanding of their existing processes. While they may be equipped to propose useful incremental improvements, unless they also have a sound knowledge of electoral fundamentals, they may be less well placed to imagine and elaborate the more radical reforms that are sometimes needed.
