The effects of centralising electoral management board design

The public administration of elections frequently fails. Variation in the performance of electoral management boards 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 among stakeholder organisations. The process of making organisational change therefore warrants closer attention by policy makers and future scholarship on electoral integrity

African Conference on Constitutional Building, 25th - 27th November 2008, Cotonou, Benin

Draft reportThis report covers the sessions of the Conference, which included: Participation in a Constitution Building Process; The Challenges of Implementation; Strategies and Structures for Reinforcing African Constitutions; Protections of Constitutions and African Constitutional Integration; and recommendations from each session. In order to consolidate democratic strides on the continent, the African Union adopted, in January 2007, an African Charter on democracy, elections and governance. In its article 23, the Charter condemns all unconstitutional changes of government and all constitutional revisions which put the democratic political changeover of power into question

The Global State of Democracy 2019: Addressing the Ills, Reviving the Promise

“What is the aim of this report? International IDEA is trying to address the current ills of democracy with data; evidence-based, global and region-specific analysis; and solutions based on sound comparative global knowledge and tested good practices. This report therefore provides a health check of the state of the world’s democracy, analysing trends, opportunities and challenges that are seen across various regions and within regions

Jméno Tábora ve světových dějinách.

Mezinárodní vědecké sympozium "Jméno Tábora ve světových dějinách" se konalo v Táboře 14. září 1992 v rámci prvních Táborských setkání