Under the Federal Constitution the responsibility to conduct elections to the House of Representatives (Dewan Rakyat) and the State Legislative Assemblies (Dewan Undangan Negeri) in Malaysia is vested with the Election Commission. In the discharge of its responsibilities, the Election Commission, is being an independent authority, is not subject in any way to direction as to how elections ought to be conducted.

The establishment of the Election Commission, consisting of a Chairman, a Deputy Chairman and five other Members, is laid down in Article 114 of the Federal Constitution. Members of the Commission are appointed by His Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan Agong after consultation with the Conference of Rulers. In appointing the members, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong “shall have regard to the importance of securing an Election Comission which enjoys public confidence”.

The main functions of Election Commission are:
1) review and delimit Parliamentary and State Constituencies at intervals of not less than eight years, following the date of completion of the last review ;
2) carry out registration of electors and revision of electoral rolls ; and
3) conduct general elections to the House of Representatives and State Legislative  Assemblies, and undertake by-elections arising out of casual vacancies.

The policy of the Election Commission is to safeguard, supervise and maintain the democratic process of the country through free and fair elections. It is the responsibility of the Commission to ensure that the people are able to elect their representatives by direct votes at any election.

To fulfill the duties and functions and functions of the Election Commission and implement the decisions of the Commission, a Secretariat was established as provided for under section 3 of the Election Act 1958 (Act 19). The Secretariat is headed by a Secretary (civil servant) who is the Chief Executive Officer of an organization. The Secretariat has fourteen election offices, one in each state and one for the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur. These offices are headed by a State Election Officer to carry out its functions. Members of the operating staff are drawn from the pool of the country’s administrative service. The organization chart of the Commission in Figure 1.