MAGYAR KÉTFARKÚ KUTYA PÁRT v. HUNGARY JUDGMENT 19 According to the case-law of the Constitutional Court, the limits of press freedom are different depending on the forum of mass communication. The Constitutional Court held that the permissible restrictions on the broadcast media (television and radio) were broader, firstly because of the lack of available frequencies and secondly because of their special impact on society and public opinion. The decision of the Kúria finding that an editor’s freedom could be restricted on the basis of the general principles of the Electoral Procedure Act was connected to the obligation to provide objective information. In its decision no. 1/2007 (I.18) the Constitutional Court established that the requirement to provide balanced, unbiased and objective information could constitute a restriction on the editorial freedom of the broadcast media, but that these restrictions were relevant only for the specific characteristics of the broadcast media and were not applicable to the printed media. As regards the printed media, the starting-point of the Constitutional Court has always been the unlimited freedom of founding a newspaper; accordingly, the power of the media to influence cannot serve as a ground for restriction. In this sense the printed media cannot be penalised because of the nature and quality of the information they provide. Under certain circumstances, printed media financed by public money and by public institutions constitute exceptions to the above rule. According to the preamble to Act no. CLXXXXIX of 2011 on local government, municipalities are the community of local citizens, they represent self-government and are part of the unity of State administration. Therefore, because of their exercise of public power and use of public money, they play a different role in providing information to the members of society. Certain obligations can be imposed on this type of printed media. It follows from the decision of the Kúria that the editorial practices of municipal newspapers financed by public money may be restricted by the requirements of the Electoral Procedure Act during a campaign period. In the present case the Constitutional Court is called on to examine the compliance of this statement of principle with freedom of opinion and editorial freedom, in the light of the right to vote. Electoral procedure and the exercise of the right to vote are often comprised of individual rights (for instance, the right to be registered on the electoral roll, and passive voting rights). On other occasions they are related to the public interest in free and democratic elections. According to Article 2 (1) of the Fundamental Law, Members of Parliament should be elected in accordance with legislation adopted by an absolute majority. The Electoral Procedure Act is one of the pieces of legislation regulating voting. It regulates electoral campaigning in a separate chapter, within which a separate title deals with the role of the media in campaigns, laying down rules for media service providers, the printed media and cinemas. According to the practice of the Kúria, the Electoral Procedure Act prevails in matters concerning electoral procedure, and all other legislation needs to be interpreted in compliance with that Act. In its leading decision no. KvK.II.37.307/2014/3 the Kúria established as a general principle that in electoral legal relations, only the provisions of the Electoral Procedure Act are applicable; other types of rules can be applied only if the Electoral Procedure Act so provides. During the campaign period, providing information to voters is even more important than at other times. The principle of the democratic rule of law requires that representative bodies be elected on the basis of democratic public opinion and well-informed choices of the electorate. Free and democratic elections are not possible