Adopted on 20 July 2015, Pretoria, Republic of South Africa DEFINITIONS OF CONCEPTS AND ACRONYMS In this document, unless otherwise stated, the following acronyms and concepts shall have the following meaning:“AU” means ‘African Union’; “ANNEXURES I & II” means ‘[I] General Guidelines for Electoral Observation and Reporting; and [II] General Criteria for Identification and Selection of SADC Electoral Observers.’ “Code of Conduct” means ‘a set of rules outlining the norms, regulations and responsibilities of; or proper practice for; an individual; political party; or organisation contesting elections; mutually agreeable to the competing entities that participate actively in the electoral process, which are enforceable by a legally competent authority such as an Electoral Management Body (EMB) or other legal entity specified in the national laws.’ “Credible elections” means ‘electoral processes enjoy considerable support and confidence of the citizenry and international or regional community, leading to mutually agreeable results from competing entities that participate actively in the electoral process.’ “Democracy” means ‘a system of government based on the respect of the rule of law; in which all citizens of a state enjoy fundamental human rights and freedoms; and are fully involved in decision making processes about affairs affecting their welfare, typically by electing their representatives at all levels of government, under a free and inclusive electoral system.’ Democratic elections means, ‘competitive, periodic, inclusive, regular elections in which persons to hold office at all levels of government are elected, through the secret ballot, by citizens who broadly enjoy fundamental human rights and freedoms.’ “ECF SADC” means ‘Electoral Commissions Forum of SADC Countries’. “Election’ means ‘A formal process of selection of persons to hold office at all levels of government by the electorate through the secret ballot.’ “Electoral Process” means ‘ a series of key election-related undertakings encompassing, inter alia, the formulation of legislation, delimitation, conflict prevention and management initiatives, civic and voter education, registration of voters, development and implementation of codes of conducts, nomination of candidates, campaigning, voting, tabulation, results announcements and election adjudication.’ “Electoral Cycle” means ‘all interrelated segments of the electoral process during which key undertakings are carried out in the pre-election, election and post-election periods.’ “Electoral Integrity” means ‘Electoral processes are held in conformity with regional and international norms and standards.’ “Electoral Justice” means ‘ The means and mechanisms for ensuring that actions and procedures employed in the electoral process are consistent with the national and applicable municipal and international laws in order to prevent electoral disputes’ “Electoral Management Body (EMB)” means ‘a professional and competent authority, established by the relevant legal instruments of a Member State of SADC, responsible for organising and supervising elections’ ii