Practitioner Perspectives on Financing of Elections

The election management bodies (EMBs) across the globe are legally responsible for the management of some or all of the core functions of the conduct of elections and direct democracy instruments. However, most EMBs are not financially independent.

EMBs that have legal independence, but not financial independence, are reliant on government funding. They are held accountable for how funds are used or mishandled, for example in the event of inadequate administrative planning or unforeseen events. EMBs that do not have financial independence are increasingly expected to fulfill their core function or expand on core functions without the adequate and timely financial backing of the national budget (Election costs: Informing the narrative, International IDEA, 2017).

International IDEA has continued to work with partners in order to build a community of practice (CoP) around the topic of budgeting and financing of elections and to develop a state-of-the-art BRIDGE training module on the topic. At an Expert Group Workshop in November 2017 and a conference in Windhoek, participants suggested that the financing of electoral process should be reframed as an investment and not a cost. Please see the conference report for more information.  

The BRIDGE module on Financing of Elections (which will be made available on the BRIDGE website in early 2021) explores some of the general principles and standards of sound financial planning – in a general sense relating to all electoral administration, and also specifically in relation to financial processes (see attachment). The module includes more than 40 activities, each with specific key understanding and learning outcomes (see attachment). Each activity uses various resources including BRIDGE partner handbooks (including the Electoral Management Design Handbook chapter on Financing of EMBs), reports, articles, newspaper extracts, and case studies on the topic. Moreover, the module includes several materials from EMBs such as organizational charts, budgets, and strategic and operational plans. The module includes more than a dozen Audio Videos produced by International IDEA and partners that feature election experts and practitioners talking about the topic based on their own experiences. All of the videos and audio recordings are now available via the links below or directly on International IDEA’s YouTube channel.

The BRIDGE module was piloted in Dili, Timor-Leste in August 2019 during a regional BRIDGE workshop. The workshop was organized by the Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration (STAE), the National Elections Commission (CNE), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and International IDEA.  Some 30 election professionals and electoral reform advocates from Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Myanmar, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Malawi attended the workshop. For some perspectives on the BRIDGE programme and the module on the financing of elections in particular, please view the videos below and the ones available here.

Multimedia Content on Financing of Electoral Processes

• Michael Maley and Therese Pearce-Laanela talk about the cost of elections and planning issues (MP4, 15 January 2020)
• Michael Maley speaking about financing of elections (MP4, 15 January 2020)
• Harry Neufeld provides seven considerations for practitioners on budgeting and financing of elections (MP4, 15 January 2020)
• Toby James covers six issues related to ‘Investing in Electoral Management’ (MP4, 15 January 2020)
• Therese Pearce-Laanela talks about electoral integrity and how it relates to costs (MP4, 15 January 2020)
• Sead Alihodzic talks about Electoral Risk Management as an important element in both strategic and operational planning (MP4, 15 January 2020)
• Rumbidzai Kandawaviska-Nhundu talks about Political Party Finance (MP4, 15 January 2020)
• Fiona Rowley talks about her experiences about budgeting and financing of elections in South Africa (MP4, 15 January 2020)
• Mamosebi Pholo, from the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) of Lesotho, discusses the challenges of funding (Audio, 15 January 2020)
• Notemba Tjipueja, Chairperson Namibia EMB, discusses challenges with financial independence of the Namibian EMB (Audio, 15 January 2020)
• Yvonne Goudie interviews Niall McCann, from UNDP about comparing cross-national electoral costs and the Cost of Elections (CORE) publication (Audio, 15 January 2020)
• William Maley speaks about the elections in Afghanistan (MP4, 15 January 2020)
• Michael Maley speaks about elections in South Africa (MP4, 15 January 2020)

Other resources

• Independence in Electoral Management: Electoral Processes Primer 1 (2021)

For further information about the module or interest to pilot the module please contact Erik Asplund (e.asplund@idea.int).