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"The requirement that elections be held periodically is expressly stated in both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (art. 21, para. 3) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (art. 25b). The importance of this provision should not be minimized. Once-only elections (for instance, at the time of the country's gaining independence, or of its transition from an authoritarian regime) will not suffice for international human rights purposes. Rather, this provision makes clear the requirement of a sustained democratic order, continually answerable to the will of the people. (72) While no particular schedule of periodicity is set by the instruments, general limitations on discretion are discernible. At the very least, elections must be held often enough to ensure that governmental authority continues to reflect the will of the people, which, as already noted, is the basis of governmental legitimacy."
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UN (Center for Human Rights): Human Rights and Elections: A Handbook on the Legal, Technical, and Human Rights Aspects of Elections, para. 71-72Download Document
Human Rights and Elections: A Handbook on the Legal, Technical, and Human Rights Aspects of Elections
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