be prescribed for complaints and appeals on the voter registers or the validation of candidates. 23. For each phase or facet of the electoral process (such as voter registration or the validity of the candidatures), the electoral law should expressly and systematically set deadlines for filing complaints and appeals by which either the courts or the electoral bodies must reach a decision. Specific time-limits departing from the general rules may be prescribed for complaints and appeals pertaining to the voter registers or the validation of candidates. 24. In the case of violations of an allegedly criminal nature, particular care should be taken to conduct an objective and impartial investigation by the responsible authorities in the most expedient manner possible. E. Voter registration 25. All citizens should be entitled to file complaints and appeals on the accuracy of the register of voters. 26. The electoral law should set a deadline after which applications, objections or complaints to the voter register may no longer be admissible. The law should not permit the accuracy of the voter register to be challenged right up to the eve of an election. This would ensure that electoral bodies and the judiciary are not diverted from urgent complaints and appeals related to the voting and counting process and drawn into resolving disputes that could have been addressed earlier. 27. The electoral law should set out an exclusive venue for filing complaints and appeals regarding the accuracy of the voter register or, where applicable, the electoral cards. The complaints procedure should be designed so that courts are not unnecessarily burdened with minor disputes. F. Validity of candidatures 28. A deadline should be set by the electoral law, after which the validity of candidatures may no longer be challenged. The time-frame for the verification process of the candidatures should be adjusted accordingly. 29. The electoral law should establish the procedure for the verification of signatures collected in support of candidates. G. Election results 30. The electoral law should provide a mechanism for the invalidation of election results. In both parliamentary and presidential elections, the decision to partially or fully invalidate election results should be assigned to the highest electoral body. This decision should be reviewable by the highest body of the judiciary or the Constitutional Court. 31. The electoral law should specify whether the entities vested with the power to invalidate the election results can take action without being presented with a formal complaint and whether their decisions should be made on a polling-station-by-polling-station basis. It should be clear from the law whether a general invalidation mechanism applies or a 12