In giving tangible form to the ECHR’s preamble concerning “an effective political democracy” in the High Contracting Parties, Article 3 of Protocol 1guarantees “free elections” in particular, without obliging the contracting States to establish a certain political democracy. However, the ECHR obliges States to set up a “legislature” which is directly elected by the people. The ECHR does not define the concept of “legislature” explicitly, but in any case it does include national parliaments. The concept must be interpreted on the basis of the constitutional structure of the State in question (ECtHR, judgment of 2 March 1987, Mathieu-Mohin and Clerfayt, series A 113, §53). In federal States such as Germany, Austria, Belgium or Switzerland, the parliaments of the federated States (the Länder, regions and communities or cantons) are also considered as “legislatures” in the sense of Article 3 (European Commission for Human Rights, decision of 11 September 1995, Timke, DR 82-A, pp. 158ff). In contrast, local authorities’ deliberative assemblies are not considered legislators, since they are endowed only with statutory powers (European Commission of Human Rights, decision of 5 July 1985, Booth-Clibborn et al., DR 43, pp. 236, 247 and onward). Equally, the scope of Article 3 does not extent to elections for the Head of State or participation in referendums (ECtHR, decision of 7 September 1999, Hilbe, RJD 1999-VI).