International Foundation for Electoral Systems Election procedures are mainly instructions regarding process details, documentation and records, and are generally directed at EMB staff. The voter will be guided in the procedure by the EMB staff, and the procedures may include various forms to be used to stakeholders in the electoral process (for example, during candidate nomination or when filing an election complaint). If EMB staff fail to follow the procedure they may be corrected (i.e., ordered to conform), or may be disciplined if the failure was negligent or deliberate. If the failure of staff persons to follow the procedure was shown to be a deliberate offense against a law or regulation, they will be subject to punishment. A “procedure” is intended to guide the completion of a process, rather than set the rules for the process. If an applicant for electoral candidacy fails to follow the set procedure, he or she fails to become a candidate. There is no need for punishment in this instance. Rules that impose penalties for interfering with the right to stand as a candidate, or for any attempts to cheat on the required qualifications for candidacy, should be in the law or regulations. In drafting regulations or procedures, the need for due process (fundamental procedural safeguards to ensure fair treatment) must be considered. Although elections have a tight and inflexible timeframe, the election calendar must be planned in such a way to ensure due process is protected. Regulation vs. Procedure If a provision is intended to create a general obligation or prohibition, and to establish punishment for non-compliance, then the provision belongs in a regulation, not a procedure. What is the source of a procedure’s authority? Procedures can be written as law by a legislature or as regulations by an administrative body, and so their source of authority is the same as that of either laws or regulations, although this is rare. More commonly, procedures are written by an administrative body to ensure that the law and regulations are applied consistently and fairly to all parties in a legal action. Hence, their authority in part may come from constitutional provisions protecting procedural due process rights. Ultimately, a procedure’s authority stems from the administrative body’s legal mandate. Who interprets and enforces procedures? Procedures are enforced by the administrative body in charge of implementing the statute or regulation creating the procedure. Failure to comply with a procedure means that the required process will not take be completed (or completed properly), so procedures are also enforced by the parties wishing to complete the process. How are they changed? Procedures can be changed in the same way that the either laws or regulations are changed, depending on whether the procedure is housed in a law or regulation. 16