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"Direct election of one of the chambers of the national parliament by the people is one aspect of Europe’s shared constitutional heritage. Subject to such special rules as are applicable to the second chamber, where there is one, other legislative bodies, like the Parliaments of Federate States, should be directly elected, in accordance with Article 3 of the Additional Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights. Nor can local self government, which is a vital component of democracy, be conceived of without local elected bodies. Here, local assemblies include all infra-national deliberative bodies. On the other hand, even though the President of the Republic is often directly elected, this is a matter for the Constitution of the individual state. "