Elections are central to establishing a legitimate democratic government. However, a democratic government’s degree of legitimacy depends on the extent to which elections are trusted and perceived to be free and fair. At the same time, competition is an inherent part of elections, which can tempt actors to engage in various types of misconduct during the many stages of the electoral process. The way in which complaints and disputes about such misconduct are handled is one of the important indicators of the credibility of elections. Therefore, free and fair elections necessitate the adoption of efficient and transparent electoral dispute-resolution (EDR) mechanisms that are explicitly defined in legislation. This report provides an overview of the global data on EDR systems contained within the International IDEA Electoral Justice Database and presents key findings from the study of EDR mechanisms. It also presents a brief discussion of these findings, highlighting important trends and practices from a global perspective. International IDEA Strömsborg SE-103 34 Stockholm Sweden Tel: +46-8-698 37 00 Fax: +46-8-20 24 22 Email: info@idea.int Website: www.idea.int ISBN: 978-91-7671-043-2