4 CHAPTER TOWARDS THE HARMONIZATION OF ELECTORAL NORMS AND STANDARDS IN WEST AFRICA A t the time of the triumph of liberal democracy with democratic contests as the principal means of gaining access to power, elections must be in accordance with a certain number of principles and standard norms of fair elections if they are to reflect the will of the people. These are standard norms because they have been accepted by countries said to be democratically advanced and by countries that have made important progresses in democratization. Moreover, the electoral domain is becoming the arena for the development of common values which are considered as principles of a good electoral process. It is in this perspective that universal or regional organizations try to set standards to guarantee a conduct of elections whose results are accepted by all political stakeholders. It is also in this perspective that ECOWAS adopted the 2001 Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance, the protocol that constitutes a sort of political constitution inspired by democratic values for West African states. But if the will to harmonize electoral standards and practices for the advent of peaceful democracies in all ECOWAS member countries is of an evident pertinence, this implies the formulation of minimal norms and standards. 4.1 Relevance of adoption of norms and standards for elections This relevance is seen through the importance of factors which are favourable to the adoption of norms and standards(1.1) and the existence of conclusive experiences in this respect(1.2). 213