International Foundation for Electoral Systems interventions that have achieved some success in addressing this issue within their respective legal and regulatory frameworks, focusing on addressing specific abuses of institutional and financial resources.8 II. Approach In many countries, the abuse of state resources is not sufficiently regulated, or there are disparities between what is written in the law and what happens in practice.9 These gaps leave the electoral system vulnerable to manipulation by those in positions of power. Fortunately, international organizations, election monitors, implementers, and academics have recognized the pervasiveness of this issue. The Venice Commission and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) have referred to the misuse of administrative resources during the electoral process as “one of the most important and recurrent challenges observed in Europe and beyond.”10 The Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO), International IDEA, and the Sunlight Foundation have specifically highlighted this issue as a major problem in Europe, Africa, and South Asia, respectively.11 On the domestic front, many journalists, election management bodies (EMBs), and civil society organizations have also been vocal about the negative effects of the abuse of state resources in their respective countries.12 International organizations have taken several steps to begin to address this globally-pervasive issue. A recent example is the development and circulation of Joint Guidelines for Preventing and Responding to the Misuse of Administrative Resources during the Electoral Process by the Venice Commission and The “state resources” concept can encompass a range of assets available to the state, including institutional, financial, regulatory, and enforcement resources. Institutional resources are defined as “non-monetary material and personnel resources available to the State, including publically-owned media and other communication tools.” TIDE, supra note 4, at 132. Financial resources are defined as monetary assets, normally through the budget of various levels of government, as well as publically-owned and/or managed institutions.” Id. Regulatory resources are defined as “the mandate to pass laws and regulations that control allowed and prohibited behavior in the polity; this regulatory prerogative regards anything from the criminal code to the order in which candidates should appear on the ballot paper.” Id. 9 This paper will use the term “misuse” and “abuse” (as they relate to the subject matter) interchangeably. It is understood that laws may seek to address these misuses/abuses through regulations that provide a list of acceptable uses; limit unacceptable uses; or some combination of both approaches. 10 Venice Comm’n & OSCE/ODIHR, Joint Guidelines for Preventing and Responding to Misuse of Administrative Resources during Electoral Process, 106th Sess., Doc No.778/2014, at ¶ 4 (2016) [hereinafter Venice Comm’n & OSCE/ODIHR, Joint Guidelines]. 11 See Int’l Inst. for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), Regional Studies on Political Finance: Regulatory Frameworks and Political Realities 54 (2014); see also Nuruddin Ahmed, How Dark Money is clouding South Asian Politics (Sept. 17, 2015, 12:01 AM), https://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2015/09/17/how-dark-moneyis-clouding-south-asian-politics/; Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO), Third Evaluation Round (launched in 2007): Evaluation and Compliance Reports, Council of Europe, http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/greco/ evaluations/round3/ReportsRound3_en.asp (last visited June 30, 2016). 12 In 2016 alone, there are many examples of these abuses: The Malawi Electoral Commission has gone on record documenting the abuse of state resources during Malawi’s tripartite elections, noting that “Presidential campaign rallies could not be distinguished from presidential functions.” Joseph Mtingwi, Malawi: Abuse of State Resources, Challenge During Campaign Period-MEC, Malawi News Agency (July 8, 2014), http://allafrica.com/ stories/201407081302.html. A Romanian Member of Parliament was imprisoned this year after being found guilty for bribing the electorate with fried chicken he obtained from a local producer by abusing his “high position in local politics” in 2012. See Matthew Day, Romanian MP Jailed for Bribing Voters with 60 Tonnes of Fried Chicken, Telegraph (Mar. 16, 2016, 2:42 PM). The Namibian President has been accused of “using taxpayers’ dollars for party political activities rather than government purposes” while campaigning for the 2016 elections. See The Incumbency Advantage, Election. Watch, http://www.electionwatch.org.na/?q=node/347. 8 2