A PRACTITIONER’S GUIDE TO INCREASING WOMEN’S ACCESS TO ELECTORAL JUSTICE as community mediators. However, the process is still dominated by men. Several interviewees noted that one goal of mediation is to “keep families together,” which is not always best for women involved in conflicts. 168 While Nepal has a strong culture of mediation, the ECN does not use it formally to handle electoral disputes. One interviewee observed that egos are involved in politics and that, for electoral issues, a punishment often needs to be assessed. However, this not part of mediation processes in Nepal. IFES’s research on ADR in practice found that monitoring committees, returning officers, and presiding officers use informal modes of resolution to resolve disputes related to campaigns, for instance. These cases are not necessarily reported, as they are settled before a formal dispute can be filed. The absence of reporting in such cases contributes to broader data gaps on the formal or informal resolution of electoral disputes. While the EDR directive on dispute resolution does not explicitly provide for these mechanisms, they present an opportunity to ensure a quick and decentralized way to hear disputes related to women, and to include women in community-level mediation. But mediation is not appropriate for all types of disputes. For example, formal adjudication proceedings that guarantee the right of defense is crucial for issues such as candidate eligibility to stand for election or election results petitions, with an appeal to a court of law. 169 In addition to the Mediation Act, judicial committees in each municipality are headed by a deputy mayor or vice chairperson. Because an overwhelming majority (78 percent) of current deputy mayors and vice chairpersons are women, there is an opportunity to empower them to ensure that the committees operate in a gender-sensitive way. However, many respondents noted that the judicial committees – established by the 2015 Constitution – did not receive proper training or support to fulfill their roles. Still, interviewees agreed that the committees can be a useful structure, with the right support, even though they do not handle electoral cases. Recommendations All forms required to file an electoral complaint should require information about the “gender of the complainant and respondent. The ECN’s electronic CMS should also collect this information. Collecting information about the gender of complainants and respondents would provide the ECN with gender disaggregated data on this metric that it could analyze to understand how many women and men filed complaints and the nature of the complaints. The requested details should include these options: “woman,” “man,” and “not listed,” along with a blank space to add information. The electronic CMS should be revised post-election to capture this data for inclusion in reports and to draw lessons learned. Enhance voter education to focus on what is in the law, what types of disputes may arise, and how citizens can file electoral complaints and appeals before the ECN or the courts. Women – especially those who live in more rural areas, are from linguistic minorities, or have low or no literacy – do not have access to information on their rights and how to file disputes; what evidence they should collect; or what to expect from a returning officer, the ECN at all levels, or the courts. Voter education on these topics targeted to women Thapa, P., and Wagley, N. (2019, February 13). Community Mediation in Nepal: “A Hospital That Stitches Broken Hearts”. The Asia Foundation. 169 The ICJ noted in a recent publication on laws addressing online gender-based violence (OGBV) against women: “Criminalized forms of OGBV should not, mandatorily, or otherwise, be referred to alternative dispute resolution procedures, such as mediation or conciliation. Alternative dispute resolution procedures should not constitute an obstacle to women’s access to formal justice.” See: International Commission of Jurists. (2023, May 19). ICJ publishes guidance for laws to prevent and address online gender-based violence against women. This principle extends to all forms of gender-based violence, including incidents that take place in the electoral context. 168 66