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. 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 Gover ...

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-l ...

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 (defunct since 2021) *Albania: Central Election Commission *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 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 ...

**New South Wales:

**Northern Territory:

**Queensland:

**South Australia:

**Tasmania:

**Victoria:

**Western Australia:

*Bangladesh: Election Commission *Belarus: Central Election Commission *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 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 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 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 *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 *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 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 ...

*Ethiopia: National Election Board *France: Constitutional Council *Ghana:

*Guyana: Elections Commission *Haiti: Provisional Electoral Council *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 Legislat ...

*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 *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 *Jordan:

*Kazakhstan: Central Election Commission *Kenya: ** Interim Independent Electoral Commission (since 2008) **''

'' (defunct since 2008) *Kosovo: *Lao: National Election Committee (Lao) *Liberia: National Elections Commission *Libya:

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 ...

*Macau:

Electoral Affairs Commission (Macau) 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 Legislat ...

*Malaysia: Election Commission *Mexico: **

National Electoral Institute The Instituto Nacional Electoral (INE) (English for ''National Electoral Institute'') (formerly Federal Electoral Institute (, IFE)) is an autonomous, public agency responsible for organizing federal elections in Mexico, that is, those relate ...

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 *Myanmar (Burma): Union Electoral Commission *Nepal: Election Commission *New Zealand:

*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 ...

*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 loc ...

*Pakistan: Election Commission *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 (entirely composed of the Supreme Court) ***

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 desig ...

***

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: Central Election Commission *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 *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): Central Election Commission *Tanzania : National Electoral Commission *Thailand: Election Commission *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 *Ukraine: Central Election Commission *United Kingdom:

*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 Cam ...

, regulates campaign finance legislation **

, a special commission for the 1876 presidential election **Florida: Florida Election Commission **Hawaii: Hawaii Elections Commission **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 **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. Addition ...

**South Carolina: South Carolina State Election Commission **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 *Venezuela: National Electoral Council *Vietnam: National Election Council (Vietnam) *Zimbabwe:

Election commissions in Africa

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

, 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