different origins. They can be national actors, for example supporters of political actors(candidates or political parties) or the political actors themselves. The presenters of the institutions concerned in the electoral process(lawmakers, members of the executive, judges of electoral disputes, officers of the structures of election management, security agents, etc.) can equally be the sources of acts leading to violence. However, sometimes foreign actors intervene in the electoral process in a way as to cause violence. This can for instance be the case when the electoral process attracts international terrorism or members of organized crime. From the foregoing, the need for associate bodies specialized in the area of security to safeguard elections in West Africa becomes apparent. This poses the following problem: how does one associate the forces of security to the running of the electoral process in an appropriate manner? In other words, given the intimidating nature of these forces and the potential for violence for which they are known, how can they be associated in order to reduce the security threats without, by so doing, generating other forms of risk for the process? To contribute satisfactory replies to this fundamental question, it is necessary to analyse the key aspects of the matter from different angles. A number of preliminary questions must be addressed in order to guarantee an appropriate involvement of these actors in elections, such as: what tasks can be assigned to them? Can their involvement be provided for in the legal framework of the elections? How can they be prepared for their appropriate participation in the electoral process? Finally, it is necessary to specify that the prevention of security threats in the context of elections cannot be limited to the resort to security forces. In effect, there are several types of actions which could be initiated in order to reduce the risks of the eruption of violence during 193