- An EMB’s powers and functions may not be separately identified in its legal framework. Apart from the essential elements of an EMB, these powers and functions can cover a greater or lesser variety of tasks, depending on factors such as the structure of the state, the electoral system, and the number and type of organizations that provide electoral services.
- Essential or core powers and functions of an EMB are:
– determining who is eligible to vote;
– receiving and validating the nominations of electoral participants (for elections, political parties and/or candidates);
– conducting polling;
– counting the votes; and
– totalling the votes.
- Non-core functions that may be undertaken by an EMB include voter registration, boundary delimitation, political party regulation and the adjudication of electoral disputes.
- Most EMBs have ‘executive’ powers and functions that relate to the conduct of elections; some have adjudicative and a very few have legislative powers. Most EMBs’ activities are reviewable by judicial or other bodies.
- There may be advantages and disadvantages, which need to be carefully assessed, of assigning some electoral activities—such as boundary delimitation, compiling data for electoral registers, registering and funding political parties, monitoring political campaigns, voter education and information, and validation of election results—to specialist bodies other than an EMB.
- EMBs have behavioural and access responsibilities to the communities they serve, which may extend beyond the minimum requirements of the electoral legal framework. These include promoting gender balance within the EMB itself and political life more broadly, dealing fairly with issues of ethnicity, promoting equality and equity in electoral contests, providing equality of access to electoral services for all and especially for marginalized members of society, and recognizing customary practices where these are in harmony with electoral management principles.
- The electoral legal framework and EMB policies can help guard against inappropriate behaviour by EMBs by requiring members and staff to avoid conflicts of interest.
- An enforceable code of conduct, which all EMB members and staff are required to sign, helps the EMB maintain electoral integrity, ethics, impartiality, service and professional standards.
