A PRACTITIONER’S GUIDE TO INCREASING WOMEN’S ACCESS TO ELECTORAL JUSTICE In Malawi, the EMB has established local-level multiparty liaison committees (MPLCs), consisting of political party and EMB representatives, to provide more efficient resolution of electoral disputes at the local level. Interviewees noted that the MPLCs are useful but require greater representation of women to fairly represent the interests of all voters and candidates, especially given the reluctance of the court to intervene in intra-party disputes, including those that take place during highly combative primary campaigns. Interviewees identified District Peace Committees, which have mandatory women’s participation including women chairs and a legal (versus administrative) basis, as a better option to increase women’s access to justice through ADR mechanisms. As a general matter, ADR processes, including mediation, are not appropriate for all types of disputes; for fundamental rights such as candidate eligibility to stand for election or election results petitions, a formal adjudication proceeding guaranteeing right of defense is crucial, with an appeal to a court of law.44 Data, Analysis, and Reporting Finally, additional research and data collection are needed to better understand the number of women seeking to contest for office at all levels, and in all political parties. In addition, sex-disaggregated data should be collected for the electoral justice cases brought at every stage of the process, including the nature of the claims brought, the number and sexes of complainants who appear pro se (that is, unrepresented by counsel), and the outcomes of those EDR processes, at every level. Depending on the structure of the ADR and EDR systems, the EMB and/or the judiciary should utilize a CMS to track and report this information. Political parties should be required to report data on the number of cases for which they retain counsel for complainants, as well as the number and gender of complainants for which they decline to provide counsel. This data should be collected in the pre-election and election periods and analyzed in the inter-election period to inform policies and decisions relating to subsequent elections, particularly with respect to women’s ability to equally access complaints and appeals, including informal or alternative justice mechanisms. 44 The International Commission of Jurists noted in a recent publication on laws addressing online gender-based violence (OGBV) against women, “Criminalized forms of OGBV should not, mandatorily, or otherwise, be referred to alternative dispute resolution procedures, such as mediation or conciliation. Alternative dispute resolution procedures should not constitute an obstacle to women’s access to formal justice.” See International Commission of Jurists. (n.d.). What is OGBV? This principle extends to all forms of gender-based violence, including incidents that take place in the electoral context. 29