2.6 Concept of Free, Fair and Periodic Election

The international standard (ICCPR 25's trinity — genuine periodic elections... by universal andequal suffrage... by secret ballot, guaranteeing the free expression of the will of the electors): FREE — the campaign's liberties (speech, assembly, movement) without coercion; the vote's autonomy (no buying, no intimidation — Unit 7's offence bars); the candidacy's open access. FAIR — the level playing field: the state's neutrality (the resources' non-use by the incumbents), the media's access, the administration's evenness (the EC's impartiality — Article 246's design), the count's integrity, the remedy's availability (Unit 7's justice). PERIODIC — the fixed clock (Article 85's five years; the local-and-provincial terms) — the mandate's expiry as the democracy's circadian rhythm. The supporting instruments: the Venice Commission's Code of Good Practicein Electoral Matters (name only) and the observers' craft (the domestic-and-international observation — the MOE... the national observer bodies' and the international missions' reports as the fairness' audit).