Administrative regulations are issued by electoral authorities to regulate specific managerial issues in an agile and simple way. Such regulations are more flexible than legislative procedures. 

During elections, a lot of managerial issues have to be solved in an urgent way within short deadlines.

Electoral laws do not have to regulate such topics, which can change from election to election.

Administrative regulations complement electoral laws, and they have to be issued by electoral authorities in charge of undertaking elections from an executive point of view. Electoral authorities empowered to oversee electoral actions have to review the regulatory amendments.  There are many electoral structures empowered to undertake such a task. Usually, such structures have to be independent and permanent.In countries with independent electoral authorities, such authorities are empowered to issue administrative regulations. The aim in those countries is to prevent the existence of insufficient regulations. Administrative regulations allow electoral authorities to regulate specific topics such as how political parties have to file their reports, how to handle candidates’ registry, electoral campaigns, electoral advertisement, election day, and so on.

There remains however an advantage where electoral legislation specifically addresses the matter of administrative regulation. Specifying the regulation making power of the electoral authority and defining the circumstances, nature and extent of that authority as well as stipulating publication of regulations and an efficient and timely hearing of complaints are useful inclusions in statute.  After all, while there is a place for regulation making in support of electoral legislation there must also be limits so that the electoral authority, “does not act as a substitute legislator.”[i]