22 MAGYAR KÉTFARKÚ KUTYA PÁRT v. HUNGARY JUDGMENT Commission (SEC), the legal predecessor to the National Election Commission, stated as follows: “... Section 70(1) of the Electoral Procedure Act [Act C of 1997] provides that ‘[t]he voter shall put the ballot paper into an envelope and place it in the ballot box in front of the polling station committee’. It follows from the grammatical and logical interpretation of this provision and from the principles governing the election procedure laid down in section 3(a) and (d) of the Electoral Procedure Act, namely the protection of the fairness of elections and the prevention of election fraud, as well as from the principles of good faith and the exercise of rights in accordance with their purpose, that the ballot paper is an authentic document the purpose of which is to reflect the electoral intentions of voters and to establish the election result. Consequently, it infringes the principle of exercise of rights in good faith and in accordance with their purpose if a voter treats the ballot paper as his or her own and removes it from the polling station. Removal of the ballot paper from the polling station may also be conducive to election fraud, the prevention of which furthers the interest of the public in maintaining the fairness of elections. The use of the ballot paper in a manner contrary to the purpose for which it was originally intended may also violate the constitutional requirement of the confidentiality of elections. According to the SEC’s position, the physical ballot paper does not constitute the property of the voter. In other words, the principle laid down in section 3(b) of the Electoral Procedure Act (voluntary participation in the vote) does not authorise a voter to remove the ballot paper from the polling station.” E. Guidelines of the National Election Commission no. 12/2014 38. Guidelines no. 12/2014 of the National Election Commission (NEC) on the removal of ballot papers from the polling station and the taking of photographs of ballot papers provide, in so far as relevant, as follows: “1. Section 182(1) of the Electoral Procedure Act provides that the voter must place the ballot paper in an envelope and drop it in the ballot box. As is clear from the grammatical and legal interpretation of this provision – taking into account also the protection of fair elections and the bona fide exercise of voting rights in accordance with their purpose – ballot papers are official documents whose purpose is to represent the choice of voters and to establish the results of voting. 2. Thus, if a voter treats a ballot paper as his or her own and takes it out of the polling station or takes a photograph of it before placing it in the envelope or dropping it in the ballot box, he or she infringes the principle of the bona fide exercise of voting rights in accordance with their purpose. Taking ballot papers out of the polling station, or taking photographs, videos, and so forth of them, can also result in electoral fraud, the prevention of which [furthers] the public interest in protecting the fairness of elections. 3. The use of ballot papers [in a manner] contrary to their purpose may also infringe the principle of secrecy of elections as enshrined in Hungary’s Fundamental Law. The secrecy of elections also encompasses the secrecy of ballot papers; thus, taking