Electoral Reform public debates, training, and civic education—constitute good practices that help to build trust in the system. Like all activities undertaken to build sustainable peace and democracy, external support for electoral reform should include a gender-sensitive approach and increase local ownership rather than replace it. Although there might be cases when substantial external support is required, for example in post-conflict settings where local capacities have been severely diminished, the longterm objective should always be to enable local actors to handle relevant processes on their own in a sustainable manner. This requires monitoring and evaluation of local capabilities, and strategies to hand over responsibility when the timing is right. 70