Accountability in Electoral Management

Abstract

The number of elections that are held around the world has increased substantially with over 90% of the world’s nation states now holding regular national elections. While many elections are conducted across the world to very high standards, there remains evidence of problems with poor election quality in both established and transitional democracies. The design and performance of electoral management boards (EMBs), the organizations responsible for conducting elections, is one of the key factors shaping election integrity and has accordingly become a pressing concern for policy makers. This panel looks at the how accountability mechanisms can be built into the electoral process and the effects that they have in improving the running of elections. This includes the legal independence that EMBs, the role of election monitoring organisations, the regulation of social media and the relationships between the range of other actors involved in the electoral process.