As Indonesia debates election dispute resolution (EDR) system reform, IFES hosted a conference for members of the Indonesian constitutional court, political party representatives, election commissioners and other stakeholders to discuss alternatives for change.

IFES experts provided a comparative perspective and distributed Guidelines for Understanding, Adjudicating, and Resolving Disputes in Elections (GUARDE), translated into Bahasa Indonesia.

Indonesia is considering reforms to its EDR system in light of the 2009 national elections and disputes that arose in several local elections.  Stakeholders — including civil society organizations, legislators and academics — are now suggesting ways to improve the system.

The goal of many stakeholders is to have disputes occur less frequently and to resolve them more effectively when they do occur.  Firmly delineating who is responsible for dispute resolution at the various levels of elections in Indonesia and defining the appropriate limits of their powers will be key to improving the system.

IFES has years of experience in EDR. GUARDE, which was first published in May of this year, identifies the seven principles crucial to any complaints adjudication process. These standards, which stem from the widely recognized fundamental right to participate in government, can be applied to any electoral system.

The conference took place at the Hotel Nikko in Jakarta on 6 October 2011.