12 NAMAT ALIYEV v. AZERBAIJAN JUDGMENT 3.3. An effective system of appeal a. The appeal body in electoral matters should be either an electoral commission or a court. For elections to Parliament, an appeal to Parliament may be provided for in first instance. In any case, final appeal to a court must be possible. b. The procedure must be simple and devoid of formalism, in particular concerning the admissibility of appeals. ... d. The appeal body must have authority in particular over such matters as the right to vote – including electoral registers – and eligibility, the validity of candidatures, proper observance of election campaign rules and the outcome of the elections. e. The appeal body must have authority to annul elections where irregularities may have affected the outcome. It must be possible to annul the entire election or merely the results for one constituency or one polling station. In the event of annulment, a new election must be called in the area concerned. f. All candidates and all voters registered in the constituency concerned must be entitled to appeal. ... g. Time-limits for lodging and deciding appeals must be short (three to five days for each at first instance). h. The applicant's right to a hearing involving both parties must be protected. i. Where the appeal body is a higher electoral commission, it must be able ex officio to rectify or set aside decisions taken by lower electoral commissions. ... EXPLANATORY REPORT ... 3.1. Organisation of elections by an impartial body 68. Only transparency, impartiality and independence from politically motivated manipulation will ensure proper administration of the election process, from the preelection period to the end of the processing of results. 69. In states where the administrative authorities have a long-standing tradition of independence from the political authorities, the civil service applies electoral law without being subjected to political pressures. It is therefore both normal and acceptable for elections to be organised by administrative authorities, and supervised by the Ministry of the Interior. 70. However, in states with little experience of organising pluralist elections, there is too great a risk of government's pushing the administrative authorities to do what it