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 federations 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 Govern ...
.
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 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.
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
*Belarus:
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 ...
Elections Manitoba
Elections Manitoba (french: Élections Manitoba) is the non-partisan agency of the Government of Manitoba responsible for the conduct and regulation of provincial elections in Manitoba.
Its responsibilities are to operate free of political influe ...
Elections Nova Scotia
Elections Nova Scotia is the non-partisan agency in Nova Scotia, of the legislative assembly charged with running provincial elections and administering provincial referendums. The ''Elections Act 2011'' established Elections Nova Scotia as an ind ...
**
Elections Nunavut
Elections Nunavut is an independent agency that oversees elections and plebiscites in Nunavut, including:
* all general elections and by-elections for the 22 Members of the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut, according to the Nunavut Elections Act. ...
**
Elections NWT
Elections NWT (french: Élections TNO) is an independent, non-partisan public agency responsible for the administration of territorial general elections, by-elections, and plebiscites in accordance with the ''Elections and Plebiscites Act''. Electi ...
Elections Prince Edward Island
Elections Prince Edward Island is the Prince Edward Island non-partisan agency of the legislative assembly charged with running provincial elections, referendums, and municipal elections.
References
External links
*
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 west ...
Election Committee
The Election Committee is a Hong Kong electoral college, the function of which is to select the Chief Executive (CE) and, since 2021, to elect 40 of the 90 members of the Legislative Council. Established by Annex I of the Basic Law of Hong ...
Independent National Electoral Commission
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was established in 1998 and is the electoral body which oversees elections in Nigeria.
History
Regulation and administration of elections
The administration of democratic elections in Nige ...
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
The Electoral Affairs Commission (EAC) is the body, established under the Electoral Affairs Commission Ordinance, that oversees electoral matters in Hong Kong. Its main functions include considering or reviewing the boundaries of Legisla ...
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 ...
*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 ...
Independent High Electoral Commission
The Independent High Electoral Commission ( ar, المفوضية العليا المستقلة للانتخابات; IHEC) is Iraq's electoral commission. The electoral commission is headed by a nine-member board. Seven of those members are votin ...
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 ...
High National Election Commission
The High National Election Commission is a body created in Libya for organising elections following the 2011 Libyan Civil War, starting in 2012.
Creation
The High National Election Commission (HNEC) was involved in organising the 2012 Libyan p ...
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 ...
Federal Electoral Tribunal
The Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary ( es, Tribunal Electoral del Poder Judicial de la Federación, or ) is a venue within the judiciary of Mexico that specialises in electoral matters. Among its functions are resolving disputes aris ...
*Moldova:
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 ...
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 ...
Independent National Electoral Commission
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was established in 1998 and is the electoral body which oversees elections in Nigeria.
History
Regulation and administration of elections
The administration of democratic elections in Nige ...
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 ...
Commission on Elections
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 ...
Senate Electoral Tribunal
The Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) is an electoral tribunal that decides election protests in the Senate of the Philippines. It consists of 6 senators nominated by the Senate, and 3 justices of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, who are design ...
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 ...
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 ...
Independent Electoral 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 ...
*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 had ...
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 ...
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 ...
*Tunisia:
Independent High Authority for Elections
The Independent High Authority for Elections ( ar, الهيئة العليا المستقلة للانتخابات ', french: Instance supérieure indépendante pour les élections or ISIE ) is a government agency in charge of organizing and super ...
*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 c ...
*Ukraine:
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 ...
*United Kingdom: Electoral Commission
*United States:
** Election Assistance Commission, 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 Camp ...
, regulates campaign finance legislation
** Electoral Commission, a special commission for the
1876 presidential election
The 1876 United States presidential election was the 23rd quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 7, 1876, in which Republican nominee Rutherford B. Hayes faced Democrat Samuel J. Tilden. It was one of the most contentious ...
**Florida:
Florida Election Commission
The Florida Election Commission (FEC) is an organisation set up in 1973 to enforce campaign finance laws in the United States' state of Florida. "The commission is composed of nine members appointed by the governor
A governor is an administrat ...
Illinois State Board of Elections
The State Board of Elections (SBE) is an independent agency of the U.S. state of Illinois. The SBE, as an acronym, refers both to the eight-member bipartisan board of directors and to the agency that it oversees. The members of the SBE, who are a ...
**Maryland:
Maryland State Board of Elections
The government of Maryland is conducted according to the Maryland Constitution. The United States is a federation; consequently, the government of Maryland, like the other 49 state governments, has exclusive authority over matters that lie entir ...
**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 ...
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
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...
**Virginia:
Virginia State Board of Elections The Virginia State Board of Elections (SBE) was created in 1946 as a nonpolitical agency responsible for ensuring uniformity, fairness, accuracy and purity in all elections in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The SBE promotes the proper administration ...
**Wisconsin:
Wisconsin Elections Commission
The Wisconsin Elections Commission is a bipartisan regulatory agency of the State of Wisconsin established to administer and enforce election laws in the state. The Wisconsin Elections Commission was established by a 2015 act of the Wisconsin Leg ...
As of 2021, 53 out of 55 African nations (save for Eritrea and Somalia, 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 political science, a multi-party system is a political system in which multiple political parties across the political spectrum run for national elections, and all have the capacity to gain control of government offices, separately or in coa ...
in the early 1990s.
See also
* Electoral college, a body which elects a candidate to a particular office.
*
*
Court of Disputed Returns
The Court of Disputed Returns is a court, tribunal, or some other body that determines disputes about elections in some common law countries. The court may be known by another name such as the Court of Disputed Elections. In countries that derive ...