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-gover ...

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 Gov ...

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-loc ...

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 The Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan (IEC) was the national electoral commission of Afghanistan, which was responsible for administering and supervising elections and referendums under the Constitution of Afghanistan. The commissi ...

(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 oper ...

(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 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:

*Belize:

Elections and Boundaries Commission The Belize Elections and Boundaries Commission is the primary electoral body in Belize. It supervises all local and national elections. The commission also establishes the boundaries of Belize's electoral divisions. Formation and duties The EBC w ...

*Bolivia: **

Plurinational Electoral Organ The Plurinational Electoral Organ ( es, Órgano Electoral Plurinacional) is the independent electoral branch of the government of Bolivia. It replaced the National Electoral Court in 2010. Composition and function The OEP consists of the 7-mem ...

(since 2010) **'' National Electoral Court'' (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 ...

Regional Electoral Courts Regional Electoral Court ({{Lang-pt, Tribunal Regional Eleitoral) is a level of the electoral court system in Brazil. The regional courts are in charge of elections at the state level. Responsibilities The functioning of the regional electoral cou ...

*Cambodia: National Election Committee *Canada:

Elections Canada Elections Canada (french: Élections Canada)The agency operates and brands itself as Elections Canada, its legal title is Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (). is the non-partisan agency responsible for administering Canadian federal electio ...

Directeur général des élections du Québec A ''directeur sportif'' (French for sporting director, although the original French term is often used in English-language media; plural ''directeurs sportifs'') is a person directing a cycling team during a road bicycle racing event. It is se ...

Elections Alberta Elections Alberta is an independent, non-partisan office of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta responsible for administering provincial elections, by-elections, referendums within the province. This is in accordance with the Alberta Election Act ...

Elections BC Elections BC (formally the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer of British Columbia) is a non-partisan office of the British Columbia legislature responsible for conducting provincial and local elections, by-elections, petitions, referendums, pl ...

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 influ ...

Elections New Brunswick Elections New Brunswick (french: Élections Nouveau-Brunswick) is the non-partisan agency of the legislative assembly in New Brunswick charged with running provincial elections, municipal elections, district education council and regional health ...

Elections Newfoundland & Labrador Elections Newfoundland & Labrador is the non-partisan agency in Newfoundland & Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlan ...

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 Ontario Elections Ontario (french: Élections Ontario) is an independent office of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario responsible for the administration of provincial elections and referendums. It is charged with the implementation and enforcement of th ...

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 Provinces and ter ...

Elections Yukon Elections Yukon is an independent agency that oversees elections and plebiscites in the Yukon including: * all general elections and by-elections for the 19 Members of the Yukon's Legislative Assembly, according to the Elections Act. * School bo ...

*China (excl. Hong Kong and Macau):

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 Ho ...

s 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 Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center (disambiguation), center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa ...

*Cyprus:

Central Elections Office Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center (disambiguation), center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa ...

*Democratic Republic of the Congo:

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 ...

*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 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 ...

*Iceland: National Electoral Commission *India:

*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 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 ...

*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 committe ...

*Italy: Central Directorate for Electoral Services *Japan:

Central Election Management Council Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

*Jordan:

*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 in Cambodia, elections of Cambodia. ...

*Liberia: National Elections Commission *Libya: High National Election Commission *Macau: Electoral Affairs Commission (Macau) *Malaysia:

*Mexico: ** National Electoral Institute **

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:

*Myanmar (Burma): Union Electoral Commission *Nepal:

*New Zealand: Electoral Commission *Nicaragua: Supreme Electoral Council *Nigeria:

*North Korea: Central Election Committee (North Korea) *Northern Cyprus:

High Electoral Board High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift t ...

*Norway:

Norwegian Directorate of Elections The Norwegian Directorate of Elections ( no, Valgdirektoratet) is a government agency subordinate the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development. An election commission, it is responsible for coordinating and managing national and loca ...

*Pakistan:

*Palestine: Central Elections Commission *Philippines:

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 ...

**Once a winner is proclaimed, only these tribunals can rule on election matters: ***

Presidential Electoral Tribunal The Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) is an electoral tribunal that decides election protests involving the election of the President of the Philippines and Vice President of the Philippines. It is composed of justices of the Supreme Court of ...

(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 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 ...

*** House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal ***

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 The Elections Department of Singapore (ELD), known exonymously as the Elections Department, is a department under the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) of the Government of Singapore which are responsible for overseeing the procedure for electio ...

*Somaliland: National Electoral Commission *South Africa:

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 *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 ...

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

*Tanzania : National Electoral Commission *Thailand:

*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:

*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 elect ...

, 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 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 ...

**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 stat ...

**Illinois:

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 enti ...

**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 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 ...

*Uruguay:

Electoral Court 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 oper ...

*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 Ethiopi ...

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 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 coal ...

in the early 1990s.

References

External links

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