46.While legislation on electoral matters will remain the responsibility of the government, section 6 provides for the Commission to keep under review and report on matters relating to elections and referendums, the redistribution of parliamentary and local government boundaries, the regulation and funding of political parties, political advertising and the law relating to all such matters. While the Commission will be expected to exercise its own initiative in reviewing electoral law, there may also be particular issues which the government of the day considers should be examined as a matter of priority. Subsection (2) therefore provides the Secretary of State with a power to require the Electoral Commission to review and report upon any such matter within a prescribed timescale.
Commentary on Sections Commission’s general functions Section 6 : Reviews of electoral and political matters