The Question
This question was posted on behalf of a member of the Practitioners' Network who wishes to remain anonymous.
I wish to document electoral complaints tribunals, commissions or other systems/institutions put in place around the world. I will be obliged if the learned practitioners would help in this endeavour. Any studies, reports or personal examples from the practitioners are welcome.
Summary of responses
Several resources and publications are mentioned by the Practitioners in their replies - please see ‘External Resources’ below.
Nigeria has an electoral tribunal that handles complaints and disputes: Justices who hear tribunal cases are attached to the Appeal Court and any appeals are heard by the Supreme Court. The latter also handles complaints related to presidential elections. In Liberia, the EMB deals with election-related complaints and disputes, while appeals to any rulings fall under the purview of the High Court.
Examples of related ACE Articles and Resources
Encyclopaedia:
• Making a Complaint
Comparative Data:
• Electoral Dispute Agency(ies): What are the agency(ies) responsible for the first level of formal electoral disputes?
External Resources
• Electoral Justice Database, International IDEA
• Electoral Justice: The International IDEA Handbook
• ‘Elections in Dangerous Places: Democracy and the Paradoxes of Peacebuilding’, edited by David Gillies
• ‘Guidelines for Understanding, Adjudicating and Resolving Disputes in Elections’, GUARDE, edited by Chad Vickery, IFES.
Names of contributors
1. Andrew Ellis
2. Shana Kaiser
3. Carl Dundas
4. Erik Asplund
5. Staffan Darnolf
Take a look at the electoral justice section of the IDEA Unified Electoral Database, <www.idea.int/elections/ej/index.cfm>. There are also a number of case studies and descriptions in the IDEA Electoral Justice Handbook.
Andrew Ellis.
As Andrew mentions, 'Electoral Justice: The International IDEA Handbook' covers many of the questions asked. The handbook classifies electoral dispute resolution systems under four categories, namely those entrusted to:
i) a legislative body or other political assembly
ii) a judicial body
iii) an EMB with judicial powers
iv) an ad hoc body
It also has case studies on Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Mexico, France, Argentina, Germany, Colombia, Guatemala, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Indonesia and others which might be of interest.
The publication can be accessed free of charge from this link:
http://www.idea.int/publications/electoral_justice/
A good overview of the kinds of first instance bodies that are charged with administering electoral complaints in legislative elections can be found at:
http://www.idea.int/uid/fieldview.cfm?field=5'
You will see that you can adjust the search fields to the information you need.
The database is currently undergoing revision with this section scheduled to be revised in the coming year.
Nigeria has an extensive electoral tribunal system that has been kept busy for months with complaints and disputes since the 2011 general elections and gubernatorial elections held since the 2011 elections. The Justices who hear the tribunal cases are attached to the Appeal Court and appeals from the Tribunals are heard by the Supreme Court. Complaints against presidential elections are heard by the Supreme Court.
The EMB of Liberia has extensive competence to deal with election complaints and disputes. An appeal against a ruling by the Commission lies with the High Court.
"Elections in Dangerous Places: Democracy and the Paradoxes of Peacebuilding" edited by David Gillies and published for the North-South Institute may be worth a look. The publication includes chapters on electoral dispute resolution and the role of electoral justice.
Have a a look at IFES' EDR book GUARDE. We don’t give a comprehensive listing of the different types of systems, but we do reference quite a few examples in Chapter 2, by type of institution. http://www.ifes.org/~/media/Files/Publications/Books/2011/GUARDE_final_publication.pdf The appendices also have excerpts from relevant laws.
