8 SITAROPOULOS AND GIAKOUMOPOULOS v. GREECE JUDGMENT 2. Texts adopted by the European Commission for Democracy through Law (the Venice Commission) (a) Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters (Opinion no. 190/2002) 22. The Code states that “the right to vote and to be elected may be accorded to citizens residing abroad” (point I.1.1.c.v.). The explanatory report makes the following indication in this regard: “... the right to vote and/or the right to stand for election may be subject to residence requirements, residence in this case meaning habitual residence. ... Conversely, quite a few States grant their nationals living abroad the right to vote, and even to be elected. This practice can lead to abuse in some special cases, e.g. where nationality is granted on an ethnic basis.” 23. The other relevant parts of the Code provide: “... 3.2 Freedom of voters to express their wishes and action to combat electoral fraud i. voting procedures must be simple; ii. voters should always have the possibility of voting in a polling station. Other means of voting are acceptable under the following conditions: iii. postal voting should be allowed only where the postal service is safe and reliable; the right to vote using postal votes may be confined to people who are in hospital or imprisoned or to persons with reduced mobility or to electors residing abroad; fraud and intimidation must not be possible; iv. electronic voting should be used only if it is safe and reliable; in particular, voters should be able to obtain a confirmation of their votes and to correct them, if necessary, respecting secret suffrage; the system must be transparent; v. very strict rules must apply to voting by proxy; the number of proxies a single voter may hold must be limited; ...” (b) 2006 report on electoral law and electoral administration in Europe (Study no. 352/2005) 24. The report notes, among other things, the following: “Voting rights for citizens abroad 57. External voting rights, e.g. granting nationals living abroad the right to vote, are a relatively new phenomenon. Even in long-established democracies, citizens living in foreign countries were not given voting rights until the 1980s (e.g. Federal Republic of Germany, United Kingdom) or the 1990s (e.g., Canada, Japan). In the meantime, however, many emerging or new democracies in Europe have introduced legal provisions for external voting (out-of-country voting, overseas voting). Although it is yet not common in Europe, the introduction of external voting rights might be considered, if not yet present. However, safeguards must be implemented to ensure the integrity of the vote ... ...