throughout the year. The Independent Electoral Commission however does not intervene in a direct manner in matters concerning the equal access to the media; rather, it acts through the channel of the National Commission on Broadcasting and Communications by reporting its observations to the latter. The role of this exceptional competence reveals the willingness to deal with the electoral process in a comprehensive manner and allows the electoral commission to apprehend the various dimensions. Another prerogative is the transportation of the ballots papers and guaranteeing the security of the voting venue. IEC may in fact ask for the support of the public for this purpose. It collects the reports on the voting exercise and centralizes the results. The Ivorian IEC has the power to proclaim, in the final analysis, the results of all the elections, with the exception of the presidential election and referenda. For these two consultations, it is the constitutional council that is competent to proclaim their results. IEC does not have any power to sanction. Irregularities observed can only be dealt with by the constitutional council and the legal authorities. IEC only receives complaints, which it forwards to the administrative authorities or competent courts which, evoking the Ivorian law, decide''without wasting of time''. IEC also has the possibility of inviting, in the first instance, the contraveners to stop their acts, and, in case of their refusal, get in touch with the authorities which are endowed with the power to sanction. IEC may also be informed by the administrative authorities, political parties, candidates during elections, and the electorate itself. At the end of each election or referendum, IEC presents a report on the conduct of the referendum to the president of the country. Copies of 66