Guidelines for Understanding, Adjudicating, and Resolving Disputes in Elections of taking into consideration the participation of women,262 young voters, and religious and ethnic minorities.263 For instance, in preparation for the 2010 municipal elections in Georgia, lawyers from 18 political parties received training about the electoral code, new amendments, filing and examining complaints, and administrative resources. This training provided the political parties with a greater understanding of the electoral process as well as the ability to effectively lodge complaints. ii. Codes of conduct Political parties should be encouraged to adopt codes of conduct to regulate their activities and behavior while campaigning, and during the entire election period, including polling day.264 In a few countries, the election management body has adopted a code of conduct for political parties to sign265 and, in some cases, the body has some enforcement responsibilities. These codes should set a minimum standard of acceptable behavior for political parties and their supporters. 266 Such guidelines will not be enforced by complaint adjudication bodies unless they are included in law-based regulations and the failure to abide by the code of conduct is defined as a violation. Political parties could also establish their own disciplinary authorities and handle internal disputes by themselves. When dealing with challenges such as primary elections, nomination proceedings, appropriate composition and sharing of lists, political party committees or other disciplinary bodies could handle such cases and thus, lessen the workload of the complaints adjudication body. In Sierra Leone, in late 2006, the newly established Political Parties Registration Commission (PPRC) and the political parties adopted a Code of African Elections Declaration, supra note 162, art. III(j). CEPPS/International Republican Institute, Quarterly Report- Liberia: Political Party Empowerment Program 5 (2005) [hereinafter CEPPS/IRI Liberia Report], available at http://pdf.dec. org/pdf_docs/PDACF452.pdf. 264 SADC Norms, supra note 138, at 13-14. 265 Election Commission of Pakistan, Code of Conduct for Candidates: General Elections, 2007-08, No.F.2(1)/2007-Cord. (Nov. 20, 2007), available at http://www.ecp.gov.pk/Misc/ COCFinal.pdf. 266 CEPPS/IRI Liberia Report, supra note 263, at 4, 8, 11-17. 262 263 82