Introduction At the start of 2020, 106 countries and territories were scheduled to hold at least one national or subnational election or referendum.8 Prior to the rapid spread of COVID-19 across the globe, some of these elections were held, and in a few high-profile cases – such as South Korea, Guinea and Mali – general elections have continued, even at the height of the pandemic. However, to date the primary response of many countries with elections scheduled has been to postpone them, sometimes indefinitely.9 At the time of writing, national and local elections and referendums in 57 countries and five territories are postponed, which represents around a quarter of the world’s countries.10 These decisions to delay elections are important and often necessary from a public health standpoint. However, they may be far from simple from a legal and constitutional perspective. Decisions are usually also being made in a highly charged political environment and postponements, even if necessarily, may be perceived to benefit one political faction over another. In addition, as focus moves globally toward pandemic recovery (versus response), countries will grapple with how to modify election procedures to allow electoral processes to move forward, while minimizing the risk for transmission of the new coronavirus. This includes modifications to the myriad of activities that make up an election — such as voter registration, candidate nomination and campaigning — not just Election Day itself. Some countries are also considering changing the process for voting completely to avoid the need for voters to physically go to the polls.11 Again, these decisions may be necessary to preserve both democratic rights and public health. However, the legal or constitutional basis for modifications must be carefully considered to preserve the legitimacy of the election process and outcome, to build trust in results and to set positive, rather than negative, precedents for future electoral contests. These challenges are by no means limited to nascent democracies, but are also facing wellestablished democracies as the world grapples with the current pandemic. The major findings in this paper are divided in three main parts, looking first at legal issues relevant to the postponement of elections; second, at the need to modify election processes once a decision is made to move ahead with an election, and how this can be done within election law frameworks; and finally, the potential role of the courts in both situations. The paper concludes with recommendations and best practices to inform the decision-making process. International Foundation for Electoral Systems -5-