The Venice Commission also emphasises the time sensitivity of responding to issues of this kind during election campaigns and its exacerbation due to the enhanced speed and outreach of the new media and related technologies. In this context, however, the need to ensure a fast and effective response should not override important procedural guarantees: according to the Code of good practice in electoral matters, an impartial body must be in charge of applying electoral law - including the rules on campaigns – and, where there is no longstanding tradition of administrative authorities' independence from those holding political power, independent, impartial electoral commissions must be set up at all levels, from the national level to polling station level. Moreover, an appeal should be possible to a body which must have authority in particular over such matters as proper observance of election campaign rules – including respect for the freedom of speech and free campaigning. These institutional mechanisms protect against the abuse of measures aimed at combating hate speech and guarantee a non-biased application of these norms. Such an institutional framework has to guarantee that individual politicians or their parties cannot silence their opponents merely by making allegations that they have engaged in hate speech.