The problems of the Electoral Commission

PROBLEMS OF THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION

Definition

An Electoral Commission can be described as a body constituted under the constitution of a country with the aim of, among other things, organizing elections to elect qualified candidates into government.

PROBLEMS

Financial problems

One of the problems of an Electoral Commission is the lack of enough funds to carry out their mandate. The mandate of the Electoral Commission is so enormous that there are mostly not enough cash to carry it through. In many African countries, they depend on donor inflow before some of its core work can be carried out. One way of solving this problem is to adequately resource the Electoral Commission.

Registering unqualified voters

In many African countries, there are no concrete means of determining the correct age of an individual. Apart from that, because of possible malnutrition in early childhood, people develop stunted grown. These obstacles allow minors to find their way onto the electoral register.

Undue political interference

There is also the problem of political interference in the work of the Electoral Commission, either real or perceived. The Chair of the Electoral Commission is appointed by the government so there is always the suspicion that the Chairperson is in league with the ruling government to rig the election.

Undue criticism from political parties

The various political parties sometimes engage in unnecessary criticism of the Electoral Commission. This only distracts the Commission from carrying out its mandate. Some people even go as far as run the Commission down with the purpose of discrediting it in preparation for rejecting the election results.

Electoral malpractices

Electoral malpractices are a problem for Electoral Commissions. Especially, in African countries and other underdeveloped countries, many political parties involve themselves in electoral malpractices with the aim of influencing the elections in their party’s favour. This activity sometimes results in the declaration of winners who would otherwise have been losers.

SAMPLE QUESTION(S)

1. Highlight six problems that are faced by the Electoral Commission.

ALSO READ:
The functions of the Electoral Commission
Solutions to the problems of the Electoral Commission

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