All acts which are developed through various stages and oriented to the final formation of the representation of the institutions of the State. An election is a process that is not limited to the day of the election itself, but it encompasses different phases, such as the design of the legal framework, the creation of an electoral administration, the preparation of the electoral roll, the registration of political parties and candidates, the election campaign, voting, counting and aggregation of results, and resolution resources and appeals (European service for external action, 2016).

The development of this term has been related to the consolidation of democracy in different countries. Thus, an essential element of any democratic system is the recognition of the right to vote and the holding of free and competitive elections. The electoral procedure characteristics are closely related to the historical and political avatars of each territory, so it is not possible to unify common origins, suitable to the entire process around the countries.

Phases of the electoral procedure, according to González (1996), could be the following ones: the first one would be “introductory”, and corresponds with the announcement of elections and the proclamation of candidates; the second would be “constitutive”, and would regulate the issue of suffrage and the control and verification of the ballot; and the last phase would be the “efficiency-inclusive”, and it would be related to acts of proclamation of elected candidates and the procedure of investiture (González, 1996: 39).

In a more detailed way, we can point that the introductory phase comprises the announcement of elections, the activation of the bodies of administration or electoral organization, electoral roll regulation, registration and subsequent proclamation of candidatures, the resolution of possible conflicts arising around these nominations, and it concludes with the development of the electoral campaign. In some States, it is also required that voter sign up or ask for a special ID to be able to vote (example of Mexico).

The election campaign is that set of licit activities carried out in the run-up to the election call, a stage in which the candidates or political parties develop their mechanisms of electoral contest following a strategy to get out the vote of the citizens. The duration and characteristics of the campaigns differ according to what is determined in the electoral rules for each process. Campaigns do not have the same functions, nor the same importance in all electoral systems (González, 1996: 40).

On the other hand, in the constituent phase we could identify an initial moment of voting, and vote counting in a second instance. During the voting, citizens exercises their right of suffrage through an elective act – the issue of vote-, and in the subsequent scrutiny, people’s will is manifested through the aggregation of their unique preferences. Voting may also have been issued in advance to the election day (see also: advance voting).

After the vote counting, and the completion and delivery of election acts, the competent electoral authority has to validate and control these proceedings, solve appeals that would have been able formulated, and finally, proclaim the elected candidates. Depending on the extension of the territorial scope of the election, as well as the resources available to the streamlining of procedures, the final results will be proclaimed at a greater or lesser period of time. In any case, thanks to the development of new technologies, it has become really common that the media already spread provisional election results a few hours after the polls close.

The main body responsible for the development and monitoring of the electoral procedure is the electoral administration, which can adopt different structure depending on the States. In general, it’s an organisational structure put to the service of the citizens for “management, monitoring, pulse and channeling of elections being held” (González, 1996: 67).

In this regard, to ensure its functions no matter how the each State is, the International Institute for democracy and Electoral assistance (International IDEA), established “minimum standards universal “for the election and ethics professional management”. To ensure both the appearance of integrity and the actual integrity of the electoral process, the electoral administration should be based on the following fundamental ethical principles: a) respect for the law, b) independence and neutrality, c) transparency, d) thoroughness, and e) service (Nohlen, 2007: 79).

To reach the success of the electoral process and the effective exercise of the right of suffrage, an electoral administration independent of the Executive Branch is needed. It has to be equipped with means and resources, and able to monitor without the interference of other actors. Given this, in most countries we can find different people who are designated for this responsibility to be guarantors of impartiality. A notable exception that could be noted is the case of Colombia, where the judges of the National Electoral Council are elected by the Congress through the parties themselves (art. 264 Constitution of Colombia).

In addition to the actual electoral administration, it is possible that the control of the electoral procedure ends up being carried out by judicial bodies, especially in those cases in which the resolution of the appeals raised by the electoral bodies does not satisfy the parties. In the Spanish case, it is a common process in which rooms of the contentious will be competent. In the case of an appeal by considering the violation of a fundamental right, the Constitutional Court shall be competent.

The electoral roll is the record that contains the data of the citizens who meet the requirements for exercising the right of suffrage, and who are not deprived of the same. The electoral roll is updated before the electoral process, and it includes citizens’ personal data that will determine the place where they have to vote on election day. In addition, quotas of representation at certain levels depend on these data (e.g., the number of Councillors in the Spanish municipalities).

In addition to citizens registered and resident in the territory in which they will vote, it is possible that the States have an electoral roll of resident voters abroad, which update is made by the respective consulates. Through these rolls, voters who do not reside in the territory in which the election is called, but who retain the right to vote can effectively do it. States can find difficult the determination of this population and to guarantee the correct exercise of voting.

During the election procedures, it is possible that certain observations are carried out by observers from other countries or representatives of international organizations. Such is the case of the European Union, which can organize missions of this type during the development of certain processes, during which the members of the missions conducted a participant observation and analysis of relevant documents with the aim of issuing reports that certify compliance with democratic standards.