ABSTRACT
This chapter is based on the first edition of the Media and Elections Handbook published by the European Institute for the Media (EIM; Lange & Palmer, 1995), on the many reports on monitoring missions of the Institute and the experience of the different monitors. The chapter is not in the first instance a scientific analysis but a practical set of recommendations built on many experiences. It provides a checklist and benchmarks of best practice in order to help establish democracy and the legal and institutional framework for free and fair elections, as far as the media are concerned.
