OSCE electoral assistance and the role of election commissions

Election commissions that serve the partisan interests of the authorities are key to the manipulation of election processes in OSCE participating states and beyond. Despite the importance of impartial election administration, OSCE/ODIHR, in its reviews of election laws or in its reports of election observation missions, has so far declined to put forward a comprehensive view on what constitutes best practices regarding the composition and functioning of election commissions. Drawing from a comparative study of the manipulation of rules for the composition and functioning of election commissions, this article develops insights, and formulates recommendations, that could inform a more assertive ODIHR approach to the issue of partisan election commissions.