give candidates any entitlement, although it could be considered implicit in some cases. It is clear that such standing for candidates is often related to the degree of evolution and the characteristics of the political party system, and therefore to the possibility of independent candidacies. 488. In addition, several countries provide for citizen action to challenge the results of an election or the eligibility of a candidate: not only the political parties and candidates but also citizens are entitled to present a challenge. This is an important and laudable factor in facilitating access to the EDR system, although the possible proliferation of challenges (e.g. this could be a political strategy used by a minority party or a losing party as a negotiating ploy) may impede the proper processing and resolution of challenges by the EDRBs – especially when they are given little time to do this. This might undermine the credibility and legitimacy of certain elections. 489. Some countries provide that when a certain kind of challenge is invoked, a hearing is held to hear from not only the political party concerned and/ or any interested third parties, but also the electoral prosecutor and/or the attorney general or public ministry representing the interests of society. 4. Time periods for filing challenges and for their resolution 490. Because the representative bodies of government have to be renewed in a timely fashion and there is a trend towards shorter election campaigns, the time frames for filing and resolving electoral challenges are very brief – although those for resolving them are not expressly provided for in every case. Table 7.1. Time limits for filing challenges to legislative election results: some examples 1 day after incident 2 days after incident 3 days after incident 10 days after incident 28–30 days after incident 30 days and more after incident Armenia Czech Republic Lithuania Serbia Albania Bolivia Costa Rica Estonia Georgia Guatemala Hungary Chile Honduras Russia Canada Cyprus Guyana Iceland Australia Azerbaijan Nepal Pakistan Source: International IDEA Electoral Justice database, 17 May 2010, <http://www.idea.int/elections/ej/ viewData.cfm> 491. There is a wide range of time frames for bringing challenges related to the electoral register. These vary from three to five days in most cases to longer periods of up to 30 days. In most cases, challenges related to acts that form part of the election preparations must be filed within three to five days, usually 162