An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a central or state election commission, an election board, an electoral council or an electoral court. Election commissions can be independent, mixed, judicial or executive. They may also be responsible for electoral

boundary delimitation Boundary delimitation (or simply delimitation) is the drawing of boundaries, particularly of electoral precincts, states, counties or other municipalities.

. In

federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-govern ...

s there may be a separate body for each subnational government. An election commission has a duty to ensure elections are conducted in an orderly manner.

Electoral models

Independent model

In the independent model the election commission is independent of the executive and manages its own budget. Countries with an independent election commission include Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, India, Jordan, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, South Africa, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the United Kingdom. In some of these countries the independence of the election commission is constitutionally guaranteed e.g. section 190 of the

Constitution of South Africa The Constitution of South Africa is the supreme law of the Republic of South Africa. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the republic, it sets out the rights and duties of its citizens, and defines the structure of the Gove ...

Branch model

In the branch model the election commission is often called an electoral branch, and is usually a constitutionally-recognized separate branch of government, with its members appointed by either the executive or the legislative branch. Countries with an electoral branch include Bolivia, Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua and Venezuela.

Mixed model

In the mixed-model there is an independent board to determine policy, but implementation is usually a matter for an executive department with varying degrees of supervision by the independent board. Countries with such a model include Cameroon, France, Germany, Japan, Senegal and Spain.

Executive model

In the executive model the election commission is directed by a cabinet minister as part of the executive branch of government, and may include

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-lo ...

authorities acting as agents of the central body. Countries with this model include Denmark, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia. In the United States, elections for federal, state, and local offices are run by the executive branch of each state government.

Judicial model

In the judicial model the election commission is closely supervised by and ultimately responsible to a special "''electoral court''". Countries with such a model include Argentina, Brazil and Mexico.

List of election commissions

*Afghanistan: ** Independent Election Commission (defunct since 2021) **

Election Complaints Commission An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operate ...

(defunct since 2021) *Albania:

Central Election Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

*Argentina: ** Dirección Nacional Electoral ** Cámara Nacional Electoral *Australia:

Australian Electoral Commission The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is the independent federal agency in charge of organising, conducting and supervising federal Australian elections, by-elections and referendums. Responsibilities The AEC's main responsibility is to ...

**Australian Capital Territory: Electoral Commission **New South Wales: Electoral Commission **Northern Territory: Electoral Commission **Queensland: Electoral Commission **South Australia: Electoral Commission **Tasmania: Electoral Commission **Victoria: Electoral Commission **Western Australia: Electoral Commission *Bangladesh: Election Commission *Belarus:

*Belize: Elections and Boundaries Commission *Bolivia: ** Plurinational Electoral Organ (since 2010) **''

National Electoral Court National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

'' (defunct since 2010) *Brazil:

Superior Electoral Court The Superior Electoral Court ( pt-BR, Tribunal Superior Eleitoral, TSE) is the highest body of the Brazilian Electoral Justice, which also comprises one Regional Electoral Court ( pt-BR, Tribunal Regional Eleitoral, TRE) in each of the 26 states a ...

** Regional Electoral Courts *Cambodia:

National Election Committee The National Election Committee (NEC; km, គណៈកម្មាធិការជាតិរៀបចំការបោះឆ្នោត, ) is an independent agency that supervises the national elections of Cambodia. Its official motto is ...

*Canada: Elections Canada ** Directeur général des élections du Québec ** Elections Alberta ** Elections BC ** Elections Manitoba ** Elections New Brunswick **

Elections Newfoundland & Labrador Elections Newfoundland & Labrador is the non-partisan agency in Newfoundland & Labrador, of the legislative assembly charged with running provincial elections. References External links * Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labr ...

** Elections Nova Scotia ** Elections Nunavut ** Elections NWT ** Elections Ontario ** Elections Prince Edward Island **

Elections Saskatchewan Elections Saskatchewan is the non-partisan organization which oversees general elections and by-elections for the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan. References External links * Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in wes ...

** Elections Yukon *China (excl. Hong Kong and Macau): Election Committees for Local People's Congress elections only *Colombia: National Electoral Council *Costa Rica: Supreme Electoral Court *Cuba: Central State Administration and Local Government National Election Commission *Cyprus: Central Elections Office *Democratic Republic of the Congo: Independent National Electoral Commission *Egypt: High Elections Committee *Ethiopia: National Election Board *France: Constitutional Council *Ghana: Electoral Commission *Guyana: Elections Commission *Haiti:

Provisional Electoral Council The Provisional Electoral Council (French: ''Conseil Électoral Provisoire'', , CEP; Haitian Creole: ''Konsèy Elektoral Pwovizwa'') was the electoral commission of Haiti. The body had the sole agency responsible for presidential elections and ...

*Hong Kong: Electoral Affairs Commission *Iceland: National Electoral Commission *India: Election Commission *Indonesia:

General Elections Commission The General Elections Commission ( id, Komisi Pemilihan Umum, abbreviated as KPU) is the body that organises elections in Indonesia. Its responsibilities include deciding which parties can contest elections, organising the voting and announcing ...

*Iran:

Guardian Council The Guardian Council, (also called Council of Guardians or Constitutional Council, fa, شورای نگهبان, Shourā-ye Negahbān) is an appointed and constitutionally mandated 12-member council that wields considerable power and influence i ...

*Iraq: Independent High Electoral Commission *Israel:

Central Elections Committee The Israeli Central Elections Committee ( he, ועדת הבחירות המרכזית, ''Va'adet HaBehirot HaMerkazit'') is the body charged under the Knesset Elections Law of 1969 to carry out the elections for the upcoming Knesset. The commit ...

*Italy:

Central Directorate for Electoral Services The Central Directorate for Electoral Services ( it, Direzione Centrale dei Servizi Elettorali) is the national election commission in Italy. It is the main body responsible for the management and overseeing elections in Italy. However the Muni ...

*Japan: Central Election Management Council *Jordan: Independent Election Commission *Kazakhstan:

*Kenya: ** Interim Independent Electoral Commission (since 2008) **'' Electoral Commission'' (defunct since 2008) *Kosovo: *Lao:

National Election Committee (Lao) The National Election Committee (NEC; km, គណៈកម្មាធិការជាតិរៀបចំការបោះឆ្នោត, ) is an independent agency that supervises the national elections of Cambodia. Its official motto is " ...

*Liberia: National Elections Commission *Libya: High National Election Commission *Macau: Electoral Affairs Commission (Macau) *Malaysia: Election Commission *Mexico: ** National Electoral Institute ** Federal Electoral Tribunal *Moldova:

*Myanmar (Burma):

Union Electoral Commission The Union Election Commission ( my, ပြည်ထောင်စု ရွေးကောက်ပွဲ ကော်မရှင်, abbreviated UEC) is the national level electoral commission of Myanmar (Burma), responsible for organising an ...

*Nepal: Election Commission *New Zealand: Electoral Commission *Nicaragua: Supreme Electoral Council *Nigeria: Independent National Electoral Commission *North Korea: Central Election Committee (North Korea) *Northern Cyprus: High Electoral Board *Norway: Norwegian Directorate of Elections *Pakistan: Election Commission *Palestine: Central Elections Commission *Philippines: Commission on Elections **Once a winner is proclaimed, only these tribunals can rule on election matters: *** Presidential Electoral Tribunal (entirely composed of the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

) *** Senate Electoral Tribunal ***

House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal The House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET) is an electoral tribunal that decides election protests in the House of Representatives of the Philippines. It consists of six representatives and three justices of the Supreme Court of the Phi ...

***

Regional Trial Court The Regional Trial Courts ( fil, Panrehiyong Hukuman sa Paglilitis) are the highest trial courts in the Philippines. In criminal matters, they have original jurisdiction. History It was formerly called as the Court of First Instance since the ...

s for local officials *Poland: National Electoral Commission *Portugal: National Elections Commission *Puerto Rico: State Elections Commission *Russia:

*Singapore: Elections Department *Somaliland: National Electoral Commission *South Africa: Independent Electoral Commission *South Korea:

National Election Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

*Spain:

Junta Electoral Central The Junta Electoral Central (JEC) is the electoral commission for elections in Spain, monitoring and registering provincial elections, district elections, those of self-governing districts and general elections. It supervises the vote at polling s ...

*Sri Lanka:

Election Commission of Sri Lanka The Election Commission of Sri Lanka is the constitutional authority responsible for administering and overseeing all elections in Sri Lanka, including the Presidential, Parliamentary, Provincial and Local Authority elections. Sri Lanka has ha ...

*Sweden: Election Authority *Taiwan (Republic of China):

*Tanzania : National Electoral Commission *Thailand: Election Commission *Tunisia: Independent High Authority for Elections *Turkey:

Supreme Electoral Council of Turkey The Supreme Election Council ( tr, Yüksek Seçim Kurulu; YSK) is the highest electoral authority in Turkey. It was established by the Deputies Election Law no. 5545 on 16 February 1950. After the 1960 coup, the Supreme Election Council gained co ...

*Ukraine:

*United Kingdom: Electoral Commission *United States: **

Election Assistance Commission The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) is an independent agency of the United States government created by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). The Commission serves as a national clearinghouse and resource of information regarding elec ...

, serves as a national clearinghouse and resource regarding election administration, establishes best practices, and provides financial aid to state electoral systems. **

Federal Election Commission The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent regulatory agency of the United States whose purpose is to enforce campaign finance law in United States federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Cam ...

, regulates campaign finance legislation ** Electoral Commission, a special commission for the

1876 presidential election The 1876 United States presidential election was the 23rd quadrennial United States presidential election, presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 7, 1876, in which Republican Party (United States), Republican nominee Rutherford B. Haye ...

**Florida: Florida Election Commission **Hawaii:

Hawaii Elections Commission Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

**Illinois: Illinois State Board of Elections **Maryland: Maryland State Board of Elections **New York:

New York State Board of Elections The New York State Board of Elections is a bipartisan agency of the New York state government within the New York State Executive Department responsible for enforcement and administration of election-related laws. It also regulates campaign fi ...

**North Carolina: North Carolina State Board of Elections & Ethics Enforcement **Oklahoma:

Oklahoma State Election Board The Oklahoma State Election Board is the governing body regarding elections in the state of Oklahoma. The Board is responsible for maintaining uniformly in the application, operation and interpretation of State and Federal election laws. Additiona ...

**South Carolina: South Carolina State Election Commission **Virginia: Virginia State Board of Elections **Wisconsin: Wisconsin Elections Commission *Uruguay: Electoral Court *Venezuela: National Electoral Council *Vietnam: National Election Council (Vietnam) *Zimbabwe: Electoral Commission

Election commissions in Africa

As of 2021, 53 out of 55 African nations (save for

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

and

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constitut ...

, which do not hold elections) use or have used election commissions to organize and supervise their elections. First introduced in the Sudan in 1957, election commissions were created across the continent especially after many African nations introduced a system of multi-party democracy in the early 1990s.

References

External links

Association of Asian Election AuthoritiesAssociation of European Election Officials
{{DEFAULTSORT:Election commission * Elections