Access to Justice and Electoral Integrity
obstacles to their political enfranchisement. Civil society
organizations can monitor and report on
the functioning of state institutions in these respects.”5
Moreover, in its first recommendation to pursue electoral integrity, it
observed that:
“To promote and protect the integrity of elections,
governments should: build the rule of law
in order to ensure that citizens, including political
competitors and opposition, have legal
redress to exercise their election-related rights.”6
Access to justice is, hence, essential for electoral integrity. In line with
this logic and in order to provide further elements to analyse the link
between electoral integrity, rule of law and legal frameworks, a core
group of the Electoral Integrity Initiative has discussed these concepts,
their implementation and interactions. This paper stems from their deliberations and research on the importance of granting access to justice for
the rule of law and electoral integrity. It also addresses three questions:
What is the importance of granting access to justice for the rule of law
and electoral integrity? What are the key principles for effective, timely
and impartial administration of justice? Under which institutional forms
and mechanisms is it possible to effectively provide judicial remedies to
violations to fundamental human rights linked to political participation
and representation?
4