Current challenges for electoral management in France and in Spain

• Pages: 635-647
• Author: Camilla Yselsa Féliz De La Cruz

— 635 —

CURRENT CHALLENGES FOR ELECTORAL MANAGEMENT IN

FRANCE AND IN SPAIN

CAMILLA YSELSA FÉLIZ DE LA CRUZ



University of Navarre (UPNA). Spain.

SUMMARY: 1. FIRST CHALLENGE: WHAT IS ELECTORAL MANAGE-

MENT? 1.1. General approach of an electoral management definition

1.2. The complexity and the diversity of electoral law and rules 2. SE-

COND CHALLENGE: FRENCH AND THE SPANISH ELECTORAL MANA-

GEMENT DESIGN 2.1. Impartiality and electoral management: risks of a

governmental model. 2.2. The problematic figure of the mayor.

1. FIRST CHALLENGE: WHAT IS ELECTORAL MANAGEMENT?

1.1. General approach of an electoral management definition.

Elections are often imagined as a process in which only two actors are

involved: the voter and the candidate. However, the most important actor seems

to be overlooked, forgotten, and neglected, a silent but powerful actor: the

Administration. In fact, it is to the Administration that the voter has entrusted his

wishes. The citizen places his/her vote in the hands of the Administration, which

transforms the votes into a seat for the elected candidate, proclaiming the final

results of the election. Thus, voting is an act of trust between the citizen and the

Administration.

An election, as a procedure, implies a succession of acts and electoral

operations which generally take place between the registration of candidacies