482. Practically all EDR systems allow voters to file a challenge against their
improper inclusion in or exclusion from the electoral register or a refusal to
issue, as applicable, their national identification card or voter registration
card. Some countries also allow political parties and candidates – and even
the public prosecutor or electoral prosecutor – to challenge any decision
related to the electoral register, even if it only involves an individual voter.
Others reserve this entitlement to political parties in cases where there is a
judicial challenge to the subsequent report of the electoral organ responsible,
based on the observations made by those parties on the publication of the
electoral register.
483. In addition, it is common for the decisions of the EMB or another
competent authority concerning the registration of or refusal to register a new
political party to be subject to challenge by the other political parties or by
any individuals (in many countries these must be citizens) who are interested
in forming it.
484. Although the standing to challenge political parties’ internal statutes
is usually vested in the members of that party or the other political parties
(when the EMB approves or validates such statutes), in Colombia any citizen
may bring a challenge before the National Electoral Council against those
clauses of a party’s statutes that are at odds with the constitution or the law.
In some systems the EMB or other competent authorities can challenge a
party’s statutes as unconstitutional or illegal.
485. Practically all countries allow political parties to challenge any decisions
of the EMB that affect them or which they consider to be illegal, as well as
decisions of the EMB concerning preparations for elections and the election
results or the ineligibility of persons elected. Often, other types of political
organization may also do this.
486. Generally in EDR systems that are entrusted to a legislative body, in
addition to the political parties, one or more legislators, whether incumbent or
newly elected, are entitled to bring an electoral challenge before the legislative
body (as in the case of legislative elections in Argentina, Germany or the
United States).
487. In addition to cases in which EMBs are allowed to review the legality
of election results on their own initiative, the vast majority of countries
allow candidates to challenge the results before an EDRB. Some only accord
candidates the status of third-party petitioner, while others do not expressly
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7. Basic elements of EDR systems
party to any of those international or regional instruments, the international
or regional mechanisms for protecting rights will have jurisdiction, on the
basis of complementarity and subsidiarity (see paragraph 407).