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Paragraph 79
 
79.  Regarding this point, it is important to recall the guidelines and explanatory report of the Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters about the meaning of the right to free elections: it includes the freedom of voters to express their wishes and combating electoral fraud. If it is considered that the aim of the voter registration system is to remove the existing electoral fraud and to prevent it in future elections, then it can be concluded that the means used to achieve this legitimate aim, i.e. the settlement of an individual registration system, which requires personal data, and the incorporation of the possibility of continuous registration and amendments of the registers, are proportionate. This proportionality derives from the fact that the measure is suitable, necessary, tends towards the protection of the right to vote, and it does not affect the principle of equality, since the difference of requirements is reasonably justified by the particular circumstances of Northern Ireland. Additionally, electors have measures of redress following the procedures described above (para. 11).