SUBSTANCE
Obligation to establish an independent and impartial electoral body
There are no precise characteristics of an independent and impartial electoral body. An
electoral body may however, be deemed independent if it has administrative and financial
autonomy and offers sufficient guarantees of the independence and impartiality of its
members (Actions Pour la Protection des Droit de L’homme (APDH) v The Republic of Cote
D’Ivoire, application 001/2014, Judgement, 18 November 2016, para 116 – 118).
Consequently, where members of an electoral body represents political parties contesting
elections, its composition must be balanced (APDH, paras 124-126). An imbalance in the
composition of the electoral body is therefore does not comply with the requirements of
independence and impartiality contrary to article 17 of the African Charter on Democracy
Elections and Governance (APDH, paras 132-133).