ELECTION WATCHDOGS 5/30/17 11:29 AM turn can fray or sever the accountability linkages detailed in this publication by complicating the efforts of stakeholders to support a legitimate post-election audit and broadly credible electoral process. The focus of this chapter is on the most important considerations for conducting an audit and building trust in the election’s final results, grounded in international best practice and standards for election processes. We also describe three recent examples in Afghanistan, Kosovo, and Haiti that illuminate these considerations. It is worth noting, however, that audit investigations in these countries were each conducted against a complex backdrop of political, economic, and social grievances, conflicts, and imperatives. This context is also essential for understanding the credibility of the audit outcomes. Definitions and Distinctions We use the term ‘audit’ to refer narrowly to a post-election investigation conducted to address largescale allegations of fraud and/or malpractice. There are many other types of audits that may be conducted around an election in both developing and consolidate democracies, focusing on specific aspects of the electoral process or as required by law (for example, routine audits of the voter registration database or hand counts in a certain percentage of polling stations in elections that use electronic voting equipment, reviews of EMB performance, or audits of political party financial records) (Lindeman et al. 2008). Many readers will be familiar with recounts, during which ballots in an electoral contest are tallied again as a check on the original results (Bircher 2008). Recounts are usually conducted under the same rules and procedures as the original count. A partial recount may include the ballots from specific polling stations or electoral districts; a full recount would normally involve tallying all ballots in all polling stations. Usually, if the non-winning candidate chooses to accept the results, a recount is not undertaken. The audits considered in this chapter may include a recount of the votes, but they also involve other aspects of an investigation into allegations of wrongdoing. Audit investigators may focus on whether or not certain voters were eligible to cast ballots, for example. Audits may focus on the mechanics of the vote or on broader issues such as the integrity of the voter list (Darnolf 2011). The decision to conduct an audit can also be made after a highly contested election in which the results lack legitimacy. Here, the audit can be a means of moving the process forward and determining a winner or breaking a political deadlock. Given this narrow definition, our examples are drawn from recent elections in less-consolidated democracies. 3