Introduction Introduction Building upon 22 years of experience in elections, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) gathered resources, experts, and data to compile a guide to election complaints adjudication. This guide seeks to advance United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Consortium for Elections and Political Processes Support (CEPPS) technical leadership in this area. It can be used to educate election administrators, the judiciary and the legal community, donors, and election stakeholders regarding effective mechanisms for resolving election disputes and complaints through both formal and alternative resolution mechanisms. Because there is a great variety of election complaints adjudication processes in place throughout the world, any examination of a specific mechanism must begin with a look at how that country’s system is organized, and how it relates to the entire electoral process. An adjudicatory body could be judicial, legislative or administrative in nature, or some hybrid. The body could be a permanent standing entity, or formed in anticipation of or as a response to each election as it takes place. It can be independent of other branches of the government, or it can be a special court or administrative agency within the government. Each of these considerations can color how the adjudicatory body will interact with the election laws and the system as a whole. There is sometimes a need for flexibility and creativity in the electoral complaints adjudication process to address the different types of electoral claims that exist.  International standards in the adjudication of electoral complaints are of crucial importance; however, exceptional circumstances sometimes require great flexibility in their implementation as long as they remain within the minimum bounds of international standards. There are some electoral irregularities in every major election, but they do not necessarily threaten the outcome of the elections. However, if such flaws rise to a level where the credibility and the legitimacy of the election are jeopardized, remedial measures should be taken in a timely and effective manner. Therefore, this guide will also help draw attention to the need to address election adjudication issues to enhance election credibility. 3