Building trust and professionalism in the management of electoral processes remains a major challenge for Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs), institutions and/or bodies responsible for managing elections. The ‘credibility gap’ – the diminished public confidence in the integrity and diligence for many electoral institutions and their activities – is a common problem for EMBs around the world.
Many EMBs face basic design questions as they seek to work better: how should EMBs be structured to ensure that they can act independently? How do EMBs relate to stakeholders such as the media, political parties and donors? How can EMBs evaluate their performance and use experience to build sustainable elections?
The Electoral Management Design Handbook is a comparative study that shares best practices and know-how from around the world on financing, structuring and evaluation of Electoral Management Bodies. It is written for electoral administrators and other practitioners involved in building professional, sustainable and cost-effective electoral administrations which can deliver legitimate and credible free and fair elections.
This Arabic translation of the Handbook comes to complement International IDEA's engagement in the Arab World, and to add another important tool for elections administrators, policy makers and reformers in the region. It also responds to increasing demands from the region for high quality knowledge tools in the electoral field in this part of the world, following the publication of the Arabic version of Electoral System Design: The New International IDEA Handbook.
“As both emerging and established democracies across the world strengthen their commitment to enhanced electoral reforms and professionalism in electoral administration, the need for a single source of information on the common themes and issues faced by all electoral administrators has never been more manifest. This Handbook is an essential tool for building the institutional capacity, sustainability, and professionalism of electoral management bodies and will help to ensure the sustainability of electoral structures and increase the legitimacy of, and public confidence in, electoral processes. The knowledge and expertise shared in this Handbook provide valuable ideas and practices for improving the performance of electoral management bodies. I am certain that this informative and practical new edition will benefit anyone with an interest or a stake in the successful administration of democratic elections.”
Jean-Pierre Kingsley, Chief Electoral Officer of Canada
Contributors: Alan Wall, Sara Staino, Joram Rukambe, Andrew Ellis, Ayman Ayoub and Carl Dundas
Table of Contents
Foreword
Preface
Contents
Acronyms and Abbreviations
Chapters
Chapter 1. Who Organizes Elections?
Chapter 2. The Legal Framework: The Context for an EMB’s Role and Powers
Chapter 3. The Powers, Functions and Responsibilities of an EMB
Chapter 4. The Composition, Roles and Functioning of an EMB
Chapter 5. Planning and Implementing EMB Activities
Chapter 6. The Development of Professional Electoral Management
Chapter 7. The Financing of EMBs
Chapter 8. Stakeholder Relationships
Chapter 9. Assessing EMB Performance
Chapter 10. The Sustainability of EMBs
Chapter 11. EMB Networks
Chapter 12. Reforming Electoral Processes
Case Studies
Afghanistan
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Cambodia
Canada
Costa Rica
Fiji
Georgia
India
Iraq
Japan
Kenya
Lesotho
Mozambique
Nigeria
Norway
Senegal
Spain
Sweden
United Kingdom
United States
Uruguay
Vanuatu
Yemen
Zimbabwe
Elections and Technology
Annexes
A. World Survey: Electoral Management Bodies in 214 countries
