THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF RUSSIA AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA JUDGMENT 37 to which the public media should function and prohibited journalists from taking part in political campaigning (see paragraphs 43 and 46 above). The applicants claimed that those legislative provisions were of no effect. Having regard to the materials at its possession, including the Supreme Court’s findings (see paragraphs 35, 37, 87-88 and 114-117 above), the Court considers that the applicants’ claims in this respect have not been sufficiently substantiated. 128. The Court considers that the respondent State took certain steps to guarantee some visibility of opposition parties and candidates on Russian TV and secure editorial independence and neutrality of the media. Probably, these arrangements did not secure de facto equality of all competing political forces in terms of their presence on TV screens. In the present case, however, when assessed in the light of the specific circumstances of the 2003 elections as they have been presented to the Court, and regard being had to the margin of appreciation enjoyed by the States under Article 3 of Protocol No. 1, it cannot be considered established that the State failed to meet its positive obligations in this area to such an extent that it amounted to a violation of that provision. iv. Conclusions 129. The Court concludes, in the light of the foregoing, that there has been no violation of Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention on account of the media coverage of the 2003 elections. Consequently, there is no need to decide on the Government’s preliminary objection concerning the victim status of some of the applicants. II. OTHER ALLEGED VIOLATIONS OF ARTICLE 3 OF PROTOCOL No. 1 TO THE CONVENTION 130. The applicants further complained that the 2003 elections were not “free” for a number of other reasons, in particular the alleged instability of the electoral legislation and the forfeiture of mandates by a number of deputies elected on behalf of the United Russia party. The applicants referred to Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention, cited above. 131. The Government argued that in 2003 there had been no major changes to the electoral system, such as, for instance, composition of the electoral commissions, and no reshuffling of electoral districts. All amendments to the legislation in 2003 had been insignificant. The Government also described the measures taken by the CEC to explain the regulatory framework of the elections to all participants, including the lower electoral commissions, observers and political parties. 132. The Government acknowledged that on several occasions members elected on behalf of United Russia had withdrawn from the list immediately after the elections and transferred their seat in Parliament to the next