To understand the variety of electoral malpractice, we first need to understand what is necessary for elections to be free and fair. The components of “electoral integrity” are addressed in a number of documents by the European Commission for Democracy Through Law (see for example the Venice Commission Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters (CDL-AD(2002)023rev2) and its Report on Figure Based Management of Possible Election Fraud (CDL-AD(2010)043). The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, in Article 25, implies that genuine elections are based on the right to stand for public office and contest elections; universal suffrage; a catalogue of civil rights and freedoms, in particular those necessary to conduct an electoral campaign (freedom of information, assembly and association); equal suffrage, i.e. votes of all voters contribute equally to the result; the use of a secret ballot process; and the prevention of corruption. The European electoral heritage, as enshrined the first Additional Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights and the Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters drafted by the Venice Commission, includes universal, equal, free, secret and direct suffrage, elections at a regular interval, as well as the conditions for implementing these principles - respect for fundamental rights, stability of electoral, organisation of election by an impartial body, observation of elections, an effective system of appeal).