The electoral management body is responsible for the administration of elections. It deals with technical issues and decision-making. It is responsible for an honest, impartial and accurate implementation of the procedures detailed in the legal and regulative frameworks. In some cases, it might also deal with drafting electoral regulations and, in most cases, drafts the operating procedures for voter and candidate registration, voting and the count.
For an electoral management body to fulfil its primary role of holding free, fair and reliable elections, it:
Administers the process impartially and according to the law
Electoral managers are supposed to administer the process impartially and according to the legal requirements. Laws are designed to protect citizens' rights and the basic principles of a free and fair election, as well as to limit the discretionary power of managers. The laws must be respected and can be used to hold the election body accountable for its actions. If there is a problem with the law, the electoral management body can bring this to the attention of the relevant authorities for correction, because selectively implementing the law can lead to serious integrity problems.
For example, one of the problems identified in the 1998 Cambodian90 and 1999 91 Indonesian elections was that the election management bodies did not administer the elections according to the law, and as a result many of the safeguards that had been built into the law, such as the complaints process, were undermined.
Maintains a professional, neutral and transparent administration
A neutral and professional administration of the process is essential for free and fair elections. All participants in the electoral process are supposed to be treated equally by the electoral management body, and its decision-making and operations should be as accurate and as transparent as possible. (For more, see Fair Process). It must also be perceived as being neutral or it can lose credibility, even if it is acting correctly. To avoid the perception that it favours a particular outcome, it is essential to have a transparent administration, with as much information as possible being made available on a timely basis to political parties, the media and the public.
Adopts procedures to protect integrity in its operations
The internal management and operational procedures adopted by the electoral management body have a significant effect on the integrity of the process. The procedures must be written, systematic and publicly available. The procedures usually cover every aspect of electoral administration, including Budget, internal management, recruiting and supervision (see Staffing and Recruitment), and operating procedures, including rules for Procurement. The procedures also include the control procedures for electoral materials and the safeguard mechanisms to be followed to ensure their protection.
Mechanisms to protect election integrity throughout election implementation are discussed in more depth in Integrity in Election Administration.
Designs electoral materials to ensure integrity
The electoral materials designed and purchased by the electoral management body must protect the integrity of the system and the electoral documents. For example, the way ballots are designed has an effect on how voters vote. Who gets to be listed first? Who is listed last? Who is buried in the middle? Ballots need to be neutral, without any party or candidate gaining an advantage because of the way they are listed or presented on the ballot. Ballot design also needs to include safeguards to protect the integrity of the materials, such as serial numbers or security paper.
Identifies and assesses integrity risks and takes corrective action when necessary
The internal management and operational procedures should include built-in mechanisms to identify integrity risks, assess the risk involved, and ensure that the proper persons or oversight agencies are contacted, and that immediate corrective action is taken. The electoral management body needs to ensure it also has a system to receive and address outside complaints made by the political parties, observers or oversight agencies. This is an important factor to ensure not only concerning integrity in the system but also to promote accountability of its administrators and participants.
Promotes voter awareness of electoral integrity issues
The electoral management body should promote the widest possible dissemination of information on the electoral system, the mechanisms built into the system to safeguard integrity and the need for citizens to take an active role in the protection of their electoral process. This can be done through specific voter education programmes undertaken by the electoral management body, or through other mechanisms to disseminate information, such as using press briefings, civil society voter education programmes or government civic education programmes in the schools. (See Voter Education.)
