The principle of democracy requires that the elections have to be held periodically – including on local (municipal) level. This stems from Article 25(b) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Article 3 of the First Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights and has been identified as one of the principles underlying Europe's electoral heritage in the Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters.34 Without periodic elections at the local level, local self-government would lack the required legitimacy.
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