Guidelines for Understanding, Adjudicating, and Resolving Disputes in Elections judge or arbiter. In IFES’ pre-election assessment report in Thailand, legal experts called on the Electoral Commission (ECT) to note that “in this time of increased political tension, it will be particularly important to ensure that the recruitment process is competitive and that candidates are properly screened.”131 The assessment stated that in order to serve as a member of an election or polling station committee, candidates should be qualified and known to be politically neutral.132 Observers noted, for example, that some election workers in Thailand were police officers, which jeopardized the principle of impartiality. However, it should be acknowledged that the complaints adjudication system in Thailand differs from most countries, as it is the ECT that functions as the complaint adjudication entity. ii. Entry-level and continued trainings Election law is often complex and dynamic, and thus the maintenance of an informed and qualified body of administrators can be even more difficult than in other fields. As a result, the skill set requirement is simply a qualifying threshold; there should also be continuing education for all current members.133 Staggered appointments of the electoral tribunal or commission could enable former electoral judges or arbiters to help with the training of newly appointed members. Continuing education is important for judges and arbiters. In Brazil, the complaints adjudication mechanism has taken into consideration the need for continuing education of arbiters. An Electoral Legal School is linked to the Court and aims to provide continuous or occasional education to judges that rule or will rule on election complaints.134 Furthermore, to ensure proper application of the law and compliance with the training given, judges and arbiters in electoral matters must be accountable for misconduct or malpractice. The efficiency of judges and arbiters relies on their skills and on their training, but the arbitration team also benefits from a qualified support staff. An IFES project in Timor-Leste focused Robert A. Dahl et al., IFES, Thailand: 2007 Pre-Election Technical Assessment, Report of Findings and Recommendations 37 (2007), available at http://aceproject.org/ero-en/regions/ asia/TH/IFES percent20Preelection percent20Assessment.pdf/view. 132 Id. 133 USAId Office of Democracy and Governance, Technical Publication Series, GuIdance for Promoting Judicial Independence and Impartiality 27 (2002), available at http://www.usaId. gov/our_work/democracy_and_governance/publications/pdfs/pnacm007.pdf. 134 Brazil Superior Electoral Court, supra note 6. 131 48