Legislative Framework

Topic IndexMinimal Conditions for Democratic Elections

For elections to be considered 'free and fair', or competitive, they have to have a tendency to meet the following conditions (see Cost Considerations):

Take place in a system in which active and passive suffrage rights are fully assured. There should be no other cause for exclusion than what is specifically envisaged by law to guarantee the freedom of the rest of the voters and the correct operation of the process, and they should be non-discriminatory.
Take place, in all aspects, in an atmosphere where all citizens' rights to participation are observed (opinion, demonstration, meeting, etc.), without which the election results themselves, as an expression of the will of the people, would be falsified. This includes access of the candidacies to the mass media and public financial or any other kind of aid during the electoral campaign, with equality among contenders (see Electoral Campaign).
Must be held regularly and periodically, according to the time limits and conditions established in the constitution or electoral laws.
Electoral organisation commissioned to run the process must act independently of the rest of the state powers, especially the executive, and be absolutely neutral. These requisites can be met through vastly different forms of organisation (see Electoral Organisation).
Standard procedures established to guarantee the casting of votes, assuring freedom and secrecy (see Voting), truthful vote counting and the conversion of these into seats, in accordance with pre-established rules and under the control of the organisations that see to it that they are observed (see Publication of Results).
Finally, a system consisting of independent organs that apply pre-established legal rules should be envisaged to solve disputes and conflicts of any kind that might emerge during or as a consequence of the electoral process (e.g., judicial power, independent organs, electoral or constitutional courts, etc.) (see Conflict and Dispute Resolution).

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Legislative Framework