No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the author.
Electoral Management Bodies in Central America
... на контекст у којем они егзистирају. Приметно је да се ове студије доминантно фокусирају на Латинску Америку (Hartlyn et al., 2008;Otaola, 2018;Rosas, 2010;Ugues, 2014) и Африку (Fall et al., 2011;Gazibo, 2006;Kerr, 2014;Mozaffar, 2002). Разлог за ово је чињеница да су политичке промене у овим регионима најбројније и да они обилују различитим типовима режима -од нових демократија до псеудодемократских и ауторитарних режима. ...
... The last group includes the aforementioned studies focusing on specific states or regions when analyzing electoral bodies, i.e., the context in which they exist. It is noticeable that these studies predominantly focus on Latin America (Hartlyn et al., 2008;Otaola, 2018;Rosas, 2010;Ugues, 2014) and Africa (Fall et al., 2011;Gazibo, 2006;Kerr, 2014;Mozaffar, 2002). The reason for this lies in the fact that political changes in these regions are most numerous, and the fact that we can find different types of regimes in these regions -from new democracies to pseudo-democratic and authoritarian regimes. ...
This paper analyzes the current status of the Republic Electoral Commission (RIK) and emphasizes the need for change so as to transform it from an existing partisan body with weak capacities into a more neutral, stronger, and more independent institution. Based on solutions from comparative practices, several measures that can be taken on this path are proposed. Firstly, it is necessary to change the current method of electing RIK members in order to reduce partisan influence on this body. Additionally, extending the term of office for RIK members is required to ensure greater independence of RIK from the current configuration of political forces and provide the opportunity for fundamental and concrete steps towards improving the electoral process. Activities related to elections, currently carried out by several other bodies in addition to RIK, should be centralized and entrusted to a professional electoral administration in order to eliminate unnecessary communication between RIK and these bodies. This would make the entire process of organizing and monitoring elections more simpler and coherent. Implementing these solutions could lead to RIK becoming a game changer in contexts of weakened institutional capacities and a limited number of external factors that can influence the improvement of the democratic process, contributing to freer and fairer elections.
... Addressing these concerns would require the adoption of best practices and reforms aimed at enhancing public participation, reducing presidential authority, and ensuring strong parliamentary oversight. Ugues (2014) emphasises that appointing non-partisan individuals to the boards of EMBs is critical for promoting impartial decision making and increasing public trust in the electoral process. Therefore, it is also essential to expand the qualifications to include assessments of an individual's standing in society, incorporating ethical and integrity checks to ensure nonpartisanship and impartiality. ...
This study investigates the importance of Electoral Management Body (EMB) independence in ensuring the integrity of democratic elections. The study adopted the case study research design and a mixed methods approach. Drawing on the ontological and epistemological perspectives, the study appliedthe positivist and interpretive paradigms. The positivist paradigm allowed for the collection of data through observation, which entailed the use of quantitative methods, whereas the interpretive paradigm focused on the comprehension of concepts to understandthe key issues on EMB independence and the operating environment by utilizingqualitative methods.The study employed both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, including a comprehensive review of existing literature, legal documents, and electoral laws, as well as stakeholder interviews, to gather diverse perspectives on the EMB's operations and independence.The analysis employed both thematic and statistical techniques to synthesize findings and draw meaningful conclusions. The study design examines Zambia’s legal framework governing EMB functions, focusing on security of tenure, transparent appointment processes, budgetary autonomy, and institutional design and assesses particular areas within the legal framework that either supportor underminethe autonomy of the EMB in Zambia. Although there are formal provisions to safeguard the autonomy of the EMB, the study reveals ongoing challenges, including executive interference in various aspects such as budgetary processes and appointments, which compromise the EMB’s credibility. The research also highlights a generational divide in stakeholder perceptions, with younger individuals showing more scepticism about the EMB’s impartiality. The resultshighlight the need for legal reforms to clarify the EMB’s autonomy, enhance transparency in appointments, reinforce protections against arbitrary removal, and improve financial independence. Thestudy concludes that based on a mixed research analysis of the EMB independence in Zambia,there are significant challenges in maintaining the EMB's independence and findings suggests that despite existing legal provisions, practical autonomy remains compromised. The study recommends strengthening the EMB's independence and effectiveness by enhancing its legal framework, decentralizing its structure, and improving transparency and accountability. Key recommendationsinclude clarifying the EMB’s autonomous status in the Constitution, codifying guidelines for the Attorney General’s ability to overturn decisions, and creating a mechanism for judicial review. It also calls for fixed, non-renewableor staggered terms for commissioners, diminishing presidential power over appointments, and budgetary independence. These reforms are intended to improve the EMB’s impartiality, operational efficiency, and public confidence within the Zambian electoral process.
... An alternative view stresses the risk of an EMBʼs "capture" by its stakeholders, considering that political parties stand to benefit from interfering with the process, thus compromising impartiality. Support for this argument lies in research about trust in elections (Molina and Hernández, 1998), trust among political elites in low-level democracies (Rosas, 2010), overall concerns with electoral fairness (Tarouco, 2016), and the autonomy and impartiality of EMBs (Ugues Jr., 2014). ...
When do political parties reject electoral results? Even decades after the democratic transition, post-electoral conflicts and protests are still common in many Latin American countries. This article argues that trust in electoral management can predict political competitorsʼ choices between two alternative strategies: defiance or compliance. The present work uses a medium-N research design and a multilevel model to analyze elections in 18 Latin American countries since redemocratization and finds support for the argument that ceteris paribus, distrust in the fairness of elections predicts the defiant reactions of political competitors.
... Esta globalidad no se alcanza hasta ahora en los demás resultados del proyecto entregados al público. 22 Una excepción constituye el libro titulado Advancing Electoral Integrity que también contiene dos contribuciones sobre América Latina (Ugues, A., 2014;Seligson, M.A. & Maldonado, A., 2014). ...
... This distinguished between EMBs according to whether the government, an independent organisation or a mixture of both was responsible for running elections (Lopez-Pinter 2000). Statutorily independent EMBs were held up as the 'gold standard' because they were thought to reduce the opportunities for partisan actors to promote their own interests (Pastor 1999;Ugues 2014). However, when studies then investigated the effects of formal-legal independence using large n, cross-national studies the evidence was mixed (Birch 2008, Norris 2015, Lindberg and van Ham 2015. ...
The public administration of elections frequently fails. Variation in the performance of electoral management bodies around the world has been demonstrated, illustrated by delays in the count, inaccurate or incomplete voter registers, or severe queues at polling stations. Centralising the management of the electoral process has often been proposed as a solution. There has been little theorisation and no empirical investigations into the effects that centralising an already decentralised system would have, however. This article addresses this lacuna by conceptualising centralisation through the literature on bureaucratic control and discretion. It then empirically investigates the effects through a case study of centralisation in two UK referendums. Semi-structured interviews were used with those who devised the policy instrument and those who were subject to it. The introduction of central directions had some of the desired effects such as producing more consistent services and eliminating errors. It also had side effects, however, such as reducing economic efficiency in some areas and overlooking local knowledge. Furthermore, the reforms caused a decline of staff morale, job satisfaction and souring of relations amongst stakeholder organisations. The process of making organisational change therefore warrants closer attention by policy-makers and future scholarship on electoral integrity.
This volume of essays brings together a group of leading political scientists, legal scholars, and political theorists to describe and analyze the body of constitutional law and practice within and upon democratic institutions, in particular examining how constitutional law shapes electoral democracy. Constitutional law and practice on this question are complex and varied. This volume therefore takes a thematic and regional approach: it selects a range of key theoretical questions related to democratic constitutional design and offers a series of chapters featuring a diverse range of voices, as well as a blend of theory, qualitative studies, and quantitative methods. Readers will gain a multifaceted understanding of a phenomenon of growing importance. The volume will also be useful to students of comparative constitutionalism, who will gain a rich array of empirical evidence to stimulate further work. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
Electoral integrity is a persistent concern in both established and transitional democracies. Independent Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs) have been championed as a key institutional reform measure to strengthen electoral integrity and are now the most common model of electoral management worldwide. Yet, empirical research has found conflicting evidence on the link between formal EMB independence and electoral integrity. We argue that conflicting findings might be driven by the lack of detailed data on EMB institutional design, with most studies using rudimentary classifications of ‘independent’, ‘governmental’ and ‘mixed’ EMBs, without addressing specific dimensions of EMB formal independence such as appointment procedures, budgetary control and formal competences. In this paper we analyse new detailed data on EMB institutional design in 72 countries around the world, develop a more detailed typology of dimensions of de jure EMB independence, and demonstrate how de jure EMB independence affects de facto EMB independence and electoral integrity.
This concluding article begins by considering the reasons behind the growing demand for policy-relevant comparative research into the institutional structures and processes of electoral management. It then outlines the theoretical framework used in this special issue – distinguishing the structure, capacities, and ethos of electoral management – and summarizes the key insights arising from the evidence. Research on electoral management is expanding, nevertheless it suffers from several major challenges, including the difficulties of isolating aid effectiveness in this sector and of determining the impact of electoral management on broader indicators of democratic performance. This constitutes the future research agenda.
Existing research does not offer conclusive evidence on which electoral management body (EMB) model is best for having confidence in electoral processes. While some scholars favour partisan autonomy in election administration, others argue for a multiparty-based election management. Others provide mixed evidence. This article focuses on the importance of including political parties in EMBs, measured by a scale with four levels of participation of parties in the appointment of EMB members. Results show that although it may be advantageous to include political parties in the appointment process of the EMB members, not all forms of inclusion yield the same level of benefits in terms of confidence in elections. This is demonstrated through logistic and multilevel regression of results from the Parliamentary Elites of Latin America survey.
From Afghanistan to Zimbabwe the world has witnessed a rising tide of contentious elections ending in heated partisan debates, court challenges, street protests, and legitimacy challenges. In some cases, disputes have been settled peacefully through legal appeals and electoral reforms. In the worst cases, however, disputes have triggered bloodshed or government downfalls and military coups. Contentious elections are characterized by major challenges, with different degrees of severity, to the legitimacy of electoral actors, procedures, or outcomes. Despite growing concern, until recently little research has studied this phenomenon. The theory unfolded in this volume suggests that problems of electoral malpractice erode confidence in electoral authorities, spur peaceful protests demonstrating against the outcome, and, in the most severe cases, lead to outbreaks of conflict and violence. Understanding this process is of vital concern for domestic reformers and the international community, as well as attracting a growing new research agenda. The editors, from the Electoral Integrity Project, bring together scholars considering a range of fresh evidence- analyzing public opinion surveys of confidence in elections and voter turnout within specific countries, as well as expert perceptions of the existence of peaceful electoral demonstrations, and survey and aggregate data monitoring outbreaks of electoral violence. The book provides insights invaluable for studies in democracy and democratization, comparative politics, comparative elections, peace and conflict studies, comparative sociology, international development, comparative public opinion, political behavior, political institutions, and public policy.
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any references for this publication.