549. In situations as described in paragraphs 540–542, it is common for the
electoral legal frameworks (or the case law) to set out assumptions that define
when the annulment of the vote at a particular or several polling stations
should be considered to be a reason to believe that the irregularities involved
affect the overall election result, in which case a new election must be called.
These include if the nullity of the votes affects more than half the polling
stations, if the nullities in the voting affect more than half the votes cast or if
they represent one-third of the valid votes cast nationally. In some countries
the nullity of the votes at 20 per cent of the polling stations is the threshold
established for annulment of the whole election.
ii) For reasons of ineligibility of a candidate or slate of candidates
550. A large number of electoral laws provide that there is ground for the
annulment of an election if the candidate or the persons on a slate of candidates
do not meet the eligibility requirements, or the candidate concerned has made
fraudulent representations in this regard. Even in those countries that do not
provide that this is a ground for annulling an election, when it subsequently
turns out that a candidate elected is ineligible, the only possible measure is
revocation of the declaration or certification.
iii) When the election is not accompanied by the necessary
guarantees
551. Several electoral legal frameworks establish as grounds for annulment
of the election that there have been sufficient acts of violence or coercion to
alter the result, and thus that the election has been held without the necessary
guarantees (e.g. Bolivia, Panama); that there has been widespread distortion of
the vote count due to error, fraud or violence (e.g. Paraguay); that infractions
have made it impossible to establish the genuine will of the voters (e.g. Russia);
that corrupt or illegal practices for the purpose of promoting or procuring the
election of any person have been so extensive that they may reasonably have
affected the result (e.g. the UK); or that there have been actions that have
vitiated the election in that they influence the general results (e.g. Uruguay).
552. The above instances involve various concepts, such as ‘guarantees
required’, ‘acts that vitiated the election’, ‘widespread distortion of the vote
counts’ or ‘extensively prevailed’, which do not give the EDRB complete
discretion in terms of the power to decide freely and with care but instead
require it to decide in a reasoned way on the technical application of
indeterminate legal concepts and their adaptation for the purpose in hand.
For this reason, in addition to being broadly bound by precedent, the
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7. Basic elements of EDR systems
i) As a consequence of the annulment of the vote at various polling
stations
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