Administrative resource

Administrative resource is the ability of political candidates and parties to use their official positions or connections in government to influence the outcome of elections.

Although similar informal practices can be observed throughout the world in countries with fragile democracies, the term administrative resource is ascribed almost exclusively to Russia and some other former USSR countries, where administrative resource plays a key role in elections.

The use of administrative resources in elections is generally considered a practice that undermines democracy and legitimacy.

Some typical examples of how administrative resource can be used:

• The authorities exert pressure on businesses to establish and/or fund certain candidates or parties affiliated with the government.
• The law is applied selectively to assist friendly candidates get ahead of the competition. Frequent tax inspections, police searches and arrests might be used to punish businesses and actors involved in helping the competing candidates.
• Government-controlled institutions (army, prisons, hospitals, public school) are mobilized for signature collection. Employees of these institutions are pressured to vote for the pro-government candidate or party under the threat of getting fired or not receiving some bonuses.
• The authorities bribe electorate indirectly by repaying pension debts or indexing salaries ahead of the elections.
• The federal government controls governors by administering the distribution of subsidies to their respective regions. Governors who demonstrate “good” election results get additional funding from the federal center.
• Control over mass media. The authorities control the news agenda, thereby getting free publicity, avoiding unpopular topics and circumventing the time limits for TV advertisements allocated to candidates.
• Control over election commissions. When counting election results, additional ballots are introduced under the names of those who didn't vote, whereas ballots for “wrong” candidates are invalidated by intentionally damaging them. Commission members, knowing they won’t be punished, replace and shuffle ballots.