A PRACTITIONER’S GUIDE TO INCREASING WOMEN’S ACCESS TO ELECTORAL JUSTICE Strengthen and Enforce the Legal Framework As shown in the graphic above, the inter-election period provides an opportunity for legislative bodies, the judiciary, and electoral institutions to review the legal framework and any electoral disputes filed during the pre-election and election periods to ensure that the electoral law and regulations do not discriminate against women voters and candidates and that enforcement during the previous election cycle was equitable. This period can also be an opportune time for legislators to strengthen the legal framework by increasing quota thresholds, improving campaign finance laws to better support women candidates, criminalizing political violence against women, and increasing penalties for violations of electoral laws. In a number of countries across Latin America, for example, “political violence for reasons of gender” is a specific offense that can result in fines, the dismissal of candidacy, the nullification of election results, or jail time.40 Mexico – one of only six countries in the world that has reached gender parity in the legislature – met this benchmark in part because women in the legislature reached across party lines to work together and consistently strengthen the electoral framework to promote gender equality in politics.41 In Ecuador, civil society organizations have provided instrumental support to operationalize 2020 reforms to the Code of Democracy, producing concrete tools to drive the enforcement of laws prohibiting political violence against women. 42 Regulations, Codes of Conduct, and Guidelines Given the challenges that women candidates face in realizing their political and electoral rights within political party structures, political parties, with support from EMBs and civil society organizations, should develop intra- and inter-party codes of conduct, guidelines, and dispute resolution mechanisms to ensure women’s equal access to the political processes. In Kenya, for example, structures such as the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties and the Political Party Leadership Committee could be leveraged to standardize and enforce gender-sensitive intraparty dispute resolution processes through the development of model guidelines and principles to guide the resolution of intraparty disputes. Once such mechanisms are established, they should be decentralized and localized to make it easier for women to access the process. Nepal has an Election Code of Conduct that is generally revised before each election. The current Election Code of Conduct includes a clause that prohibits the character assassination of women as part of electoral campaigns: “No election campaign shall be carried out or cause to be carried out by undermining the feelings or character of women.”43 Candidates must provide a self-declaration that they will be committed to complying fully with the Code of Conduct. The ECN may impose a fine of 200,000 rupees (about $1,500) or cancel a candidate’s candidacy for violating the Code of Conduct. Such codes of conduct – signed by all candidates – provide “rules of the road” for campaigns and the grounds for political parties, EMBs, and electoral courts to leverage in holding candidates accountable. When regularly updated, publicized, and enforced, codes of conduct can be powerful tools for addressing common challenges that women candidates and voters face in realizing their political and electoral rights. See, e.g., the Violet Coalition’s excellent Roadmap to Report Gender-based Political Violence: Rosales, R. (2023, July 17). Coalición Violeta presenta su Hoja de Ruta para Denunciar la Violencia Política Basada en Género – Violeta Sí, Violencia No. 41 Corley, R. (2022, March 7). Infographic | Mexican Women in Politics | Wilson Center. Www.wilsoncenter.org. 42 Ecuador’s 2020 Code of Democracy, Article 280, which establishes that by 2025 political party lists must have an equal proportion of men and women candidates and provides for both vertical and horizonal parity in candidate lists and penalties for political violence on the basis of sex. 43 Election Commission of Nepal. (2016). Election Code of Conduct 2072 (2015) (First Amendment, 2016). Unofficial translation. 40 25