Electoral boundary delimitation


Electoral boundary delimitation is the drawing of boundaries of electoral precincts and related divisions involved in elections, such as states, counties or other municipalities. It can also be called "redistribution" and is used to prevent unbalance of population across districts. In the United States, it is called redistricting. Unbalanced or discriminatory delimitation is called "gerrymandering". Though there are no internationally agreed processes that guarantee fair delimitation, several organizations, such as the Commonwealth Secretariat, the European Union and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems have proposed guidelines for effective delimitation.

Methods

Countries delimit electoral districts in different ways. Sometimes these are drawn based on traditional boundaries, sometimes based on the physical characteristics of the region and, often, the lines are drawn based on the social, political and cultural contexts of the area. This may need to be done in any form of electoral system even though it is primarily done for plurality or majority electoral system.
These processes of boundary delimitation can have a variety of legal justifications. Often, because of the powerful effects this process can have on constituencies, the legal framework for delimitation is specified in the constitution of a country. The Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance recommends the following pieces of information be included in this legal framework:

Established democracies

Delimitation is regularly used in the United States and Commonwealth countries. This is called redistricting or redistribution respectively. In these countries non-partisan commissions may draw new district boundaries based on the distribution of population according to a census.

International standards

A number of international organizations including the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the European Commission for Democracy Through Law, the Commonwealth Secretariat, and the Electoral Institute of Southern Africa have established standards which their members are encouraged to prescribe to. Among these standards the International Foundation for Electoral Systems lists the most common as being Impartiality, Equality, Representativeness, Non-Discrimination and Transparency.

Venice Commission

As part of its report, European Commission for Democracy Through Law: Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters, Guidelines and Explanatory Reports adopted October 2002, the Venice Commission proposed the following guidelines:

Commonwealth Secretariat

In the publication Good Commonwealth Electoral Practices: A Working Document, June 1997, the Commonwealth Secretariat identifies the following practices as necessary for proper delimitation:

IFES

In her study sponsored by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, Dr. Lisa Handley recommends the following considerations:
  1. population density
  2. ease of transportation and communication
  3. geographic features
  4. existing patterns of human settlement
  5. financial viability and administrative capacity of electoral area
  6. financial and administrative consequences of boundary determination
  7. existing boundaries
  8. community of interest
Also, she suggests that the process should:
  • be managed by an independent and impartial body that is representative of society, comprising persons with the appropriate skills;
  • be conducted on the basis of clearly identified criteria such as population, distribution, community of interest, convenience, geographical features and other natural or administrative boundaries;
  • be made accessible to the public through a consultation process;
  • be devoid of manipulation of electoral boundaries to favour political groups or political interests;
  • be conducted by one body;
  • include all spheres of government, both national and local.