Moreover, concerns have been raised in the first Joint Urgent Opinion about the timing of the current reform process, given that the next local elections are to be conducted in October 2021. According to the Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters, “[t]he fundamental elements of the electoral system proper, membership of electoral commissions and the drawing of constituency boundaries, should not be open to amendment less than one year before an election, or should be written in the constitution or at a level higher than ordinary law”.Exceptions to this principle are admissible if there is a broad consensus on the reform. Moreover, the principle “does not take precedence over the other principles of the Code” and it “should not be invoked to maintain a situation contrary to the standards of the European electoral heritage, or to prevent the implementation of recommendations by international organisations”.