3.1.6 Problem of the relationship between the commission and its branches From the observation of the organization and functioning of the institutions in charge of the management of elections in the region, it appears that the determination and structuring of the relationships between their different levels of management(central/national, local, etc.) is also a question worth considering. Indeed, every independent or autonomous institution involved in the management of elections in West Africa has not only an organ at the national level, which is called electoral commission in the scope of this study, but also local agencies, well known as branches of the commission. This makes the issue of good arrangement of the organs at the different levels of management a question which, when neglected, can have serious negative consequences on the quality of elections. The structuring of the different levels of an election management institution can be studied in relation to many aspects, of which three important aspects which complete each other without being independent are discussed in this section. It is in the first place the determination of the number of branches; then the origin of the members of each – meaning who is eligible, who chooses them and according to which criteria; and the position of every branch in the administrative chart(scope of administration) of the election management institution. As it can easily be noticed, a poor management of the issues mentioned above can have dramatic consequences on the electoral process. A wrong determination of the number of the level of branches or of their size can also cause additional costs to the elections; a superabundance of actors who finally may not be suitable for the organization of elections or an insufficient number of personnel can also be prejudicial for the quality of elections. 142