An electoral college is a body of representatives empowered to formally select a candidate for a specific office, most often the head of state. Electoral colleges exist in several countries and may serve to balance regional representation or ensure indirect election mechanisms.It is mostly used in the political context for a constitutional body that appoints the head of state or government, and sometimes the upper parliamentary chamber, in a democracy. Its members, called electors, are elected either by the people for this purpose (making the whole process an indirect election) or by certain subregional entities or social organizations.
If a constituent body that is not only summoned for this particular task, like a parliament, elects or appoints certain officials, it is not referred to as "electoral college" (see e.g. parliamentary system). Also, other appointing bodies (like committees appointing judges, as in Canada or Germany) normally do not fall into this definition.