In the view of the Venice Commission and ODIHR, a state has the power to decide the temporary suspension of elections for security reasons. However, the protracted suspension or cancellation of elections or voting in certain territories would risk unduly infringing the right to vote and to be elected, in particular in the absence of a formal derogation from international human rights guarantees concerning the right to free elections. In any case, be it about cancellation or temporary suspension of elections/voting, the relevant legal framework must retain the overarching principles of the rule of law and meet the criteria of proportionality and non-arbitrariness. It needs to be made clear that the protection of electoral rights is of the utmost importance and that in principle, elections/referendums should take place in the whole of the territories under consideration as in the other parts of the country; any exceptions to this principle must be well justified and subject to effective judicial review. The draft amendments need to be revised in order to comply with these requirements.