ABSTRACT
This chapter estimates the quality of contemporary elections across eight diverse nation-states within the region where data is available to consider how East Asia rates compared with the rest of the world. Evidence draws upon the results of an expert survey, the third release of the Perception of Electoral Integrity. Integrity is also undermined by partisan gerrymandering or by malapportionment favoring incumbents in the process of redistricting constituency boundaries. The informal ethos and effectiveness of public sector management has been found to be more important for electoral integrity than the structural independence of electoral administrative agencies. Money politics remained a major challenge for electoral integrity in the campaign, with independent organization Jaringan Pendidikan Pemilih untuk Rakyat reporting vote buying in over one-third of the observed polling places in twenty-five provinces. Intergovernmental organizations reflect the political composition of member states, and states within the region are currently finely balanced between autocracies and democracies.
