The communications work done by an EMB (as well as any regulatory responsibilities that it has in relation to the media) naturally falls into several different phases:

• Pre-election phase: this period is a preparatory one. Depending on exactly how the electoral system functions, it may include general voter education, registration of voters and parties, boundary delimitation, and nomination of candidates. The EMB will need to communicate to the public, through the media, on all these issues.
• Election campaign: this period will be the most intense, involving as it does preparation for voting itself, along with a variety of campaign issues. If the EMB has regulatory responsibilities in relation to the media, these will also come to the fore.
• Election day: immediately before and on the days of voting, the EMB will need to communicate a variety of messages about how and where to vote, as well as the progress of the poll. It will also need to ensure that the media understand clearly their rights of access to the voting process and the limits to this.
• The count: the EMB will be responsible for communicating regular and accurate information from the counting process, as well as regulating the access of the media to the count.
• Post-election phase: the post-election period may throw up a number of issues where the EMB is required to communicate with the public. This may be the case, for example, if there are disputes over the probity of the election process or challenges to the results. But in many instances, merely communicating the results may be a long drawn-out process.

Much of the preparation for this communication can be done in advance. Even when the exact content of media materials cannot be predicted, the schedule of communications can be included in a comprehensive plan that can be developed at a very early stage in the election process. This will allow the whole process to run more smoothly by, for example, establishing exactly the moments when a press release needs to be distributed or a media briefing held.