Bearing in mind the quite vague and general character of a number of member States’ legislation on the decision-making power of the constitutional court (or other body competent to cancel election results), procedural safeguards gain particular importance. The wider the discretion for the judge considering election matters in deciding on the consequences of irregularities, especially on the particularly serious consequence of annulment, the more important the existence of strong procedural safeguards will be.

c. Time-limits