168. The
Court also held in its interpretation judgment that the Respondent
State
sought the Court's opinion on how to implement the order of the Court to make
the electoral law compliant with the aforementioned human rights instruments,
which, “in the Court's view, is the responsibility of the State of Céte d'Ivoire”.
169. The Court further notes that in Africa there is a great diversity in terms of the
structure
and
composition
of independent
and
impartial
electoral
bodies.'®
Generally, these characteristics depend on the specificity of each country taking
into account their respective legal, administrative and political history.
170. The Court accordingly finds that it is not incumbent on it to impose a one-sizefits-all solution on the structure and composition of the electoral bodies across
the
continent.
adopted
However,
the
by the Respondent
Court
the
still consider
whether
the
new
State is no longer in violation of the human
instruments mentioned in paragraph
will first consider
must
different
law
rights
12 of this judgment. Therefore, the Court
criteria
that may
affect
the
electoral
body’s
independence and impartiality. Then, in the subsequent sections it will consider
the electoral body’s institutional independence
and
its credibility as revealed
through its reform process.
The members of the electoral body
171. With
Court
regard to the composition
holds,
contrary
of the Respondent
to the Applicants’
claim,
State’s electoral body the
that
having
political
parties
represented in an electoral body does not necessarily exclude the possibility for
it to offer sufficient guarantees of its independence and impartiality. However, as
the Court noted in its judgement in APDH v Céte d'Ivoire (merits), “for such a
body to be able to reassure the public about its ability to organise transparent,
14 Actions pour la Protection des Droits de l'Homme (APDH)
v. Céte d'ivoire (interpretation) (2017) 2
AfCLR 14, § 16.
15 See, for example, Electoral Commissions in West Africa - a Comparative Study (ECOWAS Electoral
Assistance Unit and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, 2011), Election Management Bodies in Southern Africa Comparative study of the electoral commissions’ contribution to electoral processes (Open Society
Initiative for Southern Africa and Electoral Commissions Forum — SADC Countries, 2016), Electoral
Management Design (International IDEA, 2014).
37