interested persons perceive it as sound. Only in this way will it meet its aim of conferring credibility and democratic legitimacy on electoral procedures and their results. 2. The need to design an appropriate electoral justice system 10. The design of an electoral justice system is one of the most important institutional decisions any country must make when the time comes for its electoral regime to be established or reformed. The constitutional, statutory and institutional design of electoral processes in a particular country requires an integrated and all-encompassing approach that incorporates the EJS as one of its key components. Figure 1.1. Important factors for an electoral justice system To ensure the effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability of an EJS, several factors must be borne in mind, such as Constitutional and statutory framework Electoral system Political party system Political culture 11. An electoral justice system should be reviewed periodically to ensure that it fulfils its function of guaranteeing the holding of free, fair and genuine elections in keeping with the provisions of law. At times the aspiration to obtain political power leads to the use of unlawful or unjustified means. A properly designed EJS needs to be positively geared to achieving two objectives: • Preventing and identifying irregularities • Providing appropriate means and mechanisms for correcting irregularities and/or punishing their perpetrators. 12. Both newly established electoral legal frameworks and reformed versions of some existing frameworks are currently paying increased attention to electoral justice, focusing, for example, on the procedures applicable to certain parts of the electoral process, such as the nomination of candidates, the conduct of campaigns or how the results are certified. There is growing awareness of the need to establish comprehensive and integrated legal and institutional 4