Guidelines for Understanding, Adjudicating, and Resolving Disputes in Elections The TSE was created in 193214 and has a broad jurisdiction covering all aspects of elections and regulating the functioning of political parties. It is both an adjudicative body and the primary electoral management body for Brazil. Its powers include supervising party conventions and internal elections; granting or canceling registration of parties; registering candidates and certifying those elected; regulating and supervising party access to free television and radio time during an election; and registering voters. For instance, during the 2010 runoff presidential election between Dilma Rousseff and Jose Serra, the TSE intervened to compel Rousseff’s campaign manager to post retractions of comments he had made via the social networking site Twitter impugning the integrity of the Serra campaign.15 The TSE is also a good example of a strong independent complaints adjudication body: it sets its own budget, and oversight of the members is provided by both the president and the judiciary, while auditing of expenditures is done by the legislature and the judiciary.16 B. Country Example: Costa Rica 17 The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones, TSE) of Costa Rica was established as an independent agency in 1946. Before then, election administration was the responsibility of the internal affairs secretary, who was part of the executive branch of government. The TSE was incorporated into the new constitution of 1949 as a constitutional agency with full powers to administer elections. Since then it has become one of the most prestigious institutions in the country. The TSE has power to organize, implement and supervise all elections, including presidential, legislative and local elections. It serves as the election complaints adjudication mechanism. The constitution provides that the TSE is responsible for the authoritative interpretation of both the constitutional and legislative The TSE was disbanded following the adoption of a new constitution in 1937, but was reestablished in 1945 and has been in continual operation since. History of the Superior Electoral Court, http://www.tse.gov.br/internet/ingles/institucional/o_tse.htm (last visited Jan. 3, 2011). 15 Brazil: The Superior Electoral Court Intervenes Over Offenses to Jose Serra, Momento24, Oct. 30, 2010, http://momento24.com/en/2010/10/30/brazil-the-superior-electoral-courtintervenes-over-offenses-to-jose-serra/ (last visited Jan. 3, 2011). 16 Brazil Comparative Data, ACE Electoral Knowledge Network, http://aceproject.org/epic-en/ CDCountry?country=BR&set_language=en (last visited Jan 3, 2011). 17 See Rubén Hernández Valle, Costa Rica: A Powerful Constitutional Body, http://aceproject. org/ace-en/topics/em/electoral-management-case-studies/costa-rica-a-powerful-constitutional-body. 14 122