It is necessary to establish whether provision is made in any existing legislation for the
establishment of regional and local election bodies. These provisions will be contained in the
constitution, the national election law or the rules or regulations which support the legislation.
If provisions exist, the makeup of the different bodies, their duties, and the level of operation
will probably be covered, but it is useful to examine the type of considerations necessary for the
operation of the lower-level election management bodies.
Regional Election Bodies
At what level should the regional body exist? It could be at the constituency level or a grouping
of constituencies. Alternatively, it could be at county or judet level, or in any other type of
region that may exist in the local administrative structure of the country. It is necessary to
establish the duties and responsibilities of the regional body in order that it be clear which are
distinct and which are complimentary to the national body.
Other considerations include whether the regional election body should be permanent or
temporary. It could be argued that, at the regional level, it is less important for the election body
to be permanent. However, this will largely depend on the nature of responsibilities it is given.
If, for example, the regional body is responsible for annually updating the voters lists,
monitoring regional boundaries, training issues, maintenance of equipment, and so on, then
perhaps it should be an established office. If its duties can all be performed some months before
the election is called, then a temporary arrangement would be satisfactory (see National).
However, the establishment of the temporary body should not occur too late in the election
process. In Romania, the law on the election to the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate allows
the Central Electoral Commission to be formed only fifty-five days before the election date, and
the regional and local bodies are formed at the same time. This is too late. At least six months
should be allowed for these bodies to function. Of course, permanent bodies are more costly
than temporary ones. These arguments are rehearsed in National.
Should the regional body be partisan or independent? The advantages and disadvantages should
be considered. If this body is partisan, careful consideration needs to be given to the selection of
the chair, deputy chair and secretary, and the role of other members. Another question to
consider is whether membership should be based on the extent of support at the regional level or
based on the spread of party membership at the parliamentary level. If the body is nonpartisan,
the selection criteria should be considered just as carefully, since membership will need to be
drawn from well-respected individuals known at the regional level.
As part of its duties, the regional body is likely to have responsibility for the compilation of
results from the local election body for onward transmission to the national election body. Too
often it is assumed that the regional body has the knowledge and staff to carry out this duty
adequately when in actual fact this is not the case. Training can be an important factor here, and
this issue needs to be properly addressed. While there are cost implications, it may be an
effective use of limited funds to ensure appropriate training at the regional level to avoid
unnecessary delays, errors, and even potential failure. Errors would have dramatic consequences
that the national body would have to resolve.
Local Election Bodies
Again, the position of local election management may be established in the constitution or
national election law. These bodies need only to be temporary but should be established at the
appropriate level within the administrative hierarchy of the country. Should they be established
at constituency level? It may be better to place them at precinct or voting station level of the
small town, village or commune.
Clear instructions need to be given as to the local body's relationship with the regional body.
The duties need to be specified in written instructions and reinforced with training in order that
the local body can be in no doubt about its responsibilities in advance of voting day, on election
day itself and immediately after the close of the poll. It may be left to the local body to select
the voting site and procure the equipment necessary to conduct the voting. It may have to
compile the voters lists, display the lists in advance of voting and give advice to those missing
from the list.
The combined partisan/nonpartisan composition needs to be considered, as does the make-up of
the local body. The selection of chair, deputy chair and secretary, and the role of other
members, is equally important at this level, as the voters need to have confidence in the
administration of the voting and counting arrangements. The chairperson may be the local
mayor, if a partisan group is chosen. Or, if independent, the chairperson may be an impartial
local school teacher with no known political affiliations.
