In many instances, responsibility for implementing regulations on the media during election campaigns rests with the main electoral supervisory body itself. This is often seen as appropriate if the electoral supervisory body has sufficient guarantees of independence, as well as the expertise to conduct the specialized work of media regulation.

Malawi, which held its first democratic elections in 1994, offered a positive example of an electoral commission in a new democracy that, by an effective show of independence, was able to ensure that the different political parties and candidates received a fair share of coverage from the government-controlled broadcaster. But it was able to do this not only through a display of political will, but also because it had established a specialized media sub-committee that had the experience and expertise to deal with the broadcasters.

Using the electoral supervisory body may be a preferable option in a small country where a plethora of overlapping institutions is not an attractive or cost-effective choice. In Barbados, for example, it is the Electoral and Boundaries Commission, the body with overall responsibility for the election, which is also responsible for regulating media coverage.

Nicaragua's 1987 Constitution established a Supreme Electoral Council as an independent branch of government - separate from the executive, legislature, and judiciary. Its responsibility includes applying the mass media law during elections and administering a complaints procedure. It established a specialized Mass Media Department to deal with broadcasters, in particular trying to negotiate changes in practices that are the subject of complaints.[i]