While Article 25 ICCPR has been developed in General Comment No. 25 of the UN Human Rights Committee, the Venice Commission has drafted the Code of good practice in electoral matters, which is the reference document of the Council of Europe in the electoral field. This Code details the underlying principles of Europe’s electoral heritage (universal, free, equal, secret and direct suffrage) as well as the conditions for implementing these principles (respect for fundamental rights, stability of electoral law and adequate procedural guarantees). These principles, which are also proclaimed by the OSCE Copenhagen document, apply to the whole electoral process, in particular to the pre-election stage including electoral campaigns. This is in particular the case of free suffrage, including freedom of voters to form an opinion, which can be infringed not only by the state, but also by individuals; while equal suffrage includes equality of opportunity for candidates. Both principles aim to ensure a level-playing field for all electoral competitors, including the requirement of informational neutrality by the State.