EMBs or adjudicating bodies should ensure that female contestants understand the electoral dispute resolution mechanisms, through voter education campaigns or awareness sessions, and ensure women’s access to complaints and appeals, including informal or alternative justice mechanisms. Women should also be involved in the dispute resolution mechanism and gender discrimination should be avoided.[1]

Furthermore, in some countries the judiciary plays an important role in the oversight of the electoral process, as a guarantee that EMBs and other relevant stakeholders respect constitutional and legal provisions. This can have concrete implications in terms of gender equality and women’s participation, as shown in the case of Kenya.

Example: The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) establishes Conflict Management Committees to address electoral complaints and issues. Both at the national and district levels, Conflict Management Committees organize forums to hear complaints by women candidates and voters. They can impose penalties in case of violation of electoral rules.[2] 

Example: In Kenya, the 2010 Constitution recognized a 30 percent gender quota, giving the parliament until August 2015 to enact the necessary legislation to make this measure effective, a deadline that was extended by a year without any legislation being passed. In March 2017, the Supreme Court of Kenya ruled on the quota implementation, giving the parliament 60 days to pass a law guaranteeing the application of the constitutional provision, or face dissolution. This ruling was issued as a response to the petition of human rights groups to compel parliament to enact the law before a general election on August of the same year, arguing that the lack of compliance with the constitutional requirement of gender quota would entail a constitutional crisis. No law was passed after this ruling and some parliamentarians denounced the ruling as an attack to the independence of the parliament.[3]