1 CHAPTER STATUS AND TERMS OF OFFICE OF ELECTORAL COMMISSION 1.1 Status of Electoral Commissions T he constitutions of electoral commissions comprise some similar characteristics; the differences stem from the history of democratization of each country, its legal tradition and the relationship of the political forces which gave rise to the birth of the electoral commissions. In order to understand the basic facts concerning these constitutions, it will be necessary to thoroughly study the mode of appointment of the members of the Commissions (1) and the duration of their tenures(2). 1.1.1 Appointment of members of the electoral commissions In the determination of the“profile” of the members of the electoral commissions, the first alternative consists in appointing only members who are not politically inclined, or on the contrary include people selected on the basis of their political affiliation. In other words, the neutrality expected of the electoral commission may take two shapes: - Either a deliberate taking into account of political considerations, which is expected to bring the danger of partiality to the fore precisely through a balanced representation of political forces; 19