2 Apart from creating a conducive atmosphere for conducting free and fair elections, which I will deal with in the final section of this paper, there is need for the creation of an independent Electoral Court that is composed of competent, impartial judges capable of expeditiously dealing with election petitions in the shortest possible period to avoid raging electoral conflicts. Subsequent to the nullification of the Electoral Court by the Supreme Court on the grounds that its composition was unconstitutional, there needs to be provision for the establishment of a truly independent Electoral Court with adequate provision for the speedy resolution of disputes. (Election Petitions should be resolved within 6 months.) There is also need to complement the judges of the Electoral Court with staff, equipment and adequate resources. In considering all these, one needs to be mindful of the fact that there is need for political will in order to embrace electoral reforms and abide by constitutions. All players should cultivate a democratic electoral culture. Political tolerance should be fully embraced and practiced. It is necessary to encourage intra party democracy. There is need for enforceable codes of conduct for political parties, crafted in an all-inclusive transparent process. Penalties need to be punitive enough to ensure compliance. There is also need to make attempts at conflict management processes, rather than conflict resolution so that election-related conflicts are dealt with amicably without going to court. The electoral legislative framework also needs to be mindful of the prevailing political culture of the country. The Electoral Management Body (EMB) needs to be particularly vigilant and ensure that the enabling electoral legislative and regulatory environment provides for effective conflict resolution mechanisms, both formal – through the Courts and informal – through alternative dispute resolution processes. Even though there may not be a history of consensus building and negotiation in the country, it is incumbent upon the EMB, by way of its various fora such as the Conflict Management Committees (CMCs) and Party Liaison Committees (PLCs) to encourage a culture of compromise where problem solving rather than conflict and civil strife is promoted. The Courts too need to take into account the context in which they are operating during election periods. Long delays in hearing petitions and complaints and providing judgments can only exacerbate political tensions, which will have an impact on the credibility and legitimacy of the elections. These delays could also result in the electoral process being held to ransom by postponements and rescheduling of polling. It is therefore critically important that the Court, be it