Electoral Commission
 Electoral Commission     | |
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| Subpage | •Electoral Commission/CEO |
The Electoral Commission is an independent body, set up in 2001 by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which regulates party and election finance and sets standards for how elections should be run.
The Electoral Commission was created following a recommendation by the fifth report of the Committee on Standards in Public Life.
The Commission's mandate was set out in the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA), and ranges from the regulation of political donations and expenditure by political and third parties through to promoting greater participation in the electoral process. The Electoral Administration Act 2006 required local authorities to review all polling stations, and to provide a report on the reviews to the Electoral Commission.
The Political Parties and Elections Act 2009 granted the Electoral Commission a variety of new supervisory and investigatory powers. It fills significant gaps in the commission's current powers, the Act also provides a new range of flexible civil sanctions, both financial and non-financial are currently proposed to extend to regulated donees as well as political parties.
The Act also permitted the introduction of individual electoral registration in Great Britain and made changes to the structure of the Electoral Commission, including allowing for the appointment of four new electoral commissioners who will be nominated by political parties.
There was widespread criticism of the 2010 UK General Election[1][2] including allegations of fraudulent postal voting, polling stations being unprepared for an evening surge of voters,[3] policing of voters protesting at one polling station,[4] and only enough ballot papers for 80% of voters.[5] The Electoral Commission was also criticised for its handling of the Election.[6]
References
- ↑ "Watchdog launches inquiry into chaos at polling stations"
- ↑ "Postal passport to ballot frauds: A farce that shames our democracy"
- ↑ "Election 2010: Voters' frustrations at polling problems"
- ↑ "Is this really the end of Punch and Judy politics?"
- ↑ "'Astronomical turnout' blamed for ballot papers running out in Liverpool"
- ↑ "Turned-away voters told to demand rerun"
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