198. Among the EDR systems entrusted to independent EMBs with ultimate judicial power are the Supreme Electoral Council (Consejo Supremo Electoral) of Nicaragua, the Supreme Elections Tribunal (Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones) of Costa Rica and the Electoral Court of Uruguay as well as the Supreme Election Council (Yüksek Seçim Kurulu Başkanliği) of Turkey. The Nicaraguan Constitution defines the Supreme Electoral Council as the ‘Poder Electoral’ (electoral branch of government). The constitutional powers conferred on the Supreme Elections Tribunal of Costa Rica and the Electoral Court of Uruguay, as well as the structural safeguards with which they are endowed, make these three bodies tantamount to a fourth branch of government. 199. Some of the EDR systems whose bodies are included in this section are called electoral tribunals or electoral courts and their respective members enjoy conditions of security of employment equivalent to those enjoyed by members of the judicial branch. They are vested with the authority to organize and administer electoral processes, and are therefore independent EMBs, but have significant judicial powers and thus from a technical standpoint they should be considered judicial bodies in their own right. 200. In contrast to the specialized electoral courts discussed in the previous section, EMBs with judicial powers are not in charge of resolving challenges brought against the actions, procedures and decisions of all other bodies, but only challenges to the actions of a lower ranking body. In addition, unlike other specialized electoral courts, the decisions of which may be reviewed by a Supreme Court or Constitutional Court, the decisions of the EMBs with judicial powers considered here are final and not subject to review. 201. In general, EMBs with judicial powers have a pyramidal structure, at the top of which is a central, high ranking entity at the national level, to which other intermediate bodies are subordinated. For the most part, they reflect the territorial, political, administrative and electoral divisions of the country (often called regional, state, provincial, departmental, municipal or district councils or boards) right down to the polling station where citizens cast their ballots. 202. Special mention should be made of Uruguay where, since the 1997 reform, the Electoral Court also hears all matters related to electoral actions, procedures and decisions of the political parties’ internal elections to choose their candidates for the national presidency and the legislature (presidential and legislative elections are held simultaneously on the same day nationwide), and also for elections for members of a party’s internal national decision-making bodies. The Electoral Court organizes those internal party elections in addition to its jurisdiction over national elections, issues the regulations needed to hold them, and judges all claims and appeals brought against electoral and party actions and decisions. No appeal is possible against its rulings. 76