In new democracies it is important that party representatives be trained in understanding the intricacies of the electoral system in place. Political parties and candidates are the primary actors in the elections and it is important that they have a full understanding of electoral procedures and policies to avoid distrust or objections. The higher the levels of complexity, of the vote count for example, the greater the need for training.
Training may be required for some or all of the following:
- main provisions of election law,
- criteria for voter registration,
- criteria for party registration,
- criteria for nominating candidates,
- election law offences,
- campaigning,
- polling procedures,
- vote counting procedures,
- observation procedures and code of conduct.
The responsibility for this kind of training may be on the parties themselves, or may be on the election management body. Many international organisations, such as the International Republican Institute, the National Democratic Institute, and others, have conducted wide-spread training programmes to aid party officials to perform their mandate in a professional way, both as contestants in and as monitors of the elections. In many African countries party agents/monitors are trained simultaneously with the polling officials. Such an approach promotes trust building and the fairness of elections.
