The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled, on the basis of Article 3 of the First Additional Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights,12 that the choice of the electoral system by which the free expression of the Opinion of the people in the choice of the legislature is ensured – whether it be based on proportional representation, the “first-past-the-post” system or some other arrangement – is a matter in which states (High Contracting Parties) enjoy a wide margin of appreciation (Matthews v. the United Kingdom, Mathieu-Mohin and Clerfayt v. Belgium, Yumak and Sadak v. Türkiye [GC]).13 As long all electors have by their vote the possibility of affecting the composition of the legislature, the choice of the electoral system falls in the state´s margin of appreciation.14 In this regard, the Court’s task is to determine whether the effect of electoral legislation is to exclude some persons or groups of persons from participation in the political life of the country, whether the discrepancies created by a particular electoral system can be considered arbitrary or abusive or whether the system tends to favour political parties or candidates by giving them an electoral advantage at the expense of others.15 Any conditions imposed by electoral legislation must not thwart the free expression of the opinion of the people in the choice of the legislature – in other words, they must reflect, or not run counter to, the concern to maintain the integrity and effectiveness of an electoral procedure aimed at identifying the will of the people through universal suffrage.