IFES Practitioner Brief on Alternative Dispute Resolution in Elections Bawaslu has conducted extensive training on mediation and is committed to its objective of having 30 percent of members/mediators be women, an increase over the current 17 percent. Bawaslu conducts gender-related trainings for mediators, although these remain limited. During an interview with IFES, former Bawaslu commissioner and IFES She Leads alumna Dr. Ratna Dewi Pettalolo noted that, in addition to capacity building, there is a need to invest in advocacy to encourage women to become members of Bawaslu and serve as mediators. Indeed, disputants sought Bawaslu’s support regarding candidacy eligibly criteria and resolving this case with the election commission. For instance, many parties to the nomination process have problems fulfilling the legal requirement of one-third female candidates in the list. As a result of mediation, the settlement included an extension of the deadline to help parties to convince women to become candidates. Another challenge faced by Bawaslu, as noted by interviewees, was the consistency of decisions across Indonesia— a country with 34 provinces and 514 municipalities/cities and 190 million registered voters. In the 2019 elections, there were challenges in the implementation of ADR processes to ensure consistency in certain disputes, including gender quotas for candidacy. Coordination from the national Bawaslu to the district/city level must be carried out intensively to ensure that every decision or agreement is consistent across regions. Even with precise arrangements and training, arbitrariness or intimidation may be apparent in mediation settlements. Former Bawaslu commissioner Fritz Edward Siregar mentioned the challenge of Bawaslu remaining an objective arbitrator and the need to address disputes both as a mediator and potentially as an adjudicator in the future. Bawaslu established clear procedures for who presides over a matter and who serves as secretary. The members of Bawaslu can meet as a panel or in plenary and developed rules to ensure a fair process. These include providing for mediation by two or three members of Bawaslu at the local level, followed by an appeals process with a full bench. In the 2019 elections, Bawaslu addressed more than 800 disputes over the electoral process. A former Bawaslu commissioner noted that “50.9 [percent] of these cases that are filed with Bawaslu are completed and final after the mediation.” 186 Most cases involved political parties and the Election Commission. Data show the successful use of mediation in the Indonesian election context. Records of all electoral process dispute processes are maintained in the Dispute Resolution Information System, which Bawaslu offices throughout Indonesia can access. Through this digital system, Bawaslu can monitor ongoing electoral dispute resolution processes, improving mediation practices from one cycle to the next. El Salvador El Salvador features an example of voluntary informal mediation, with trained mediators helping to prevent conflicts by orienting voters, explaining Election Day procedures to them, and promoting dialogue and peaceful resolution of problems during the voting and counting process. Since 2009, the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) has worked on the mediation of electoral conflicts, drawing on its experience of mediation in other fields. The PGR signs a Cooperation Agreement with the EMB (the Supreme 186 F.E. Siregar, personal communication, July 2022. 69