32 MAGYAR KÉTFARKÚ KUTYA PÁRT v. HUNGARY JUDGMENT in its Guidelines no. 12/2014, applicable in election proceedings and referendums, which had specified that, regard being had to the new technical developments, voters could not take ballot papers outside the polling station, even in virtual form, by recording them in any way. Therefore, voters could not record ballot papers. This interpretation of the law had been both accessible and foreseeable to the MKKP. 78. Turning to the examination of the legitimate aims pursued by the disputed restriction, the Government considered that the measure complained of had been necessary in a democratic society to protect the public interest in ensuring the orderly conduct of the voting procedure (including campaigning) and the “normal” use of ballot papers. They contended that these aims fell within the ambit of “the protection of rights of others”, including the right to the secrecy of the vote, a fair electoral process and the proper functioning of the democratic institutions. The aims in question protected the free expression of voters’ political opinions by shielding voters from any coercion. 79. As to the principle of the “exercise of rights in accordance with their purpose” laid down in section 2(1)(e) of the Act on Electoral Procedure, the Government argued that this requirement amounted to a prohibition of the abuse of rights and that it followed from the State’s obligation to protect democratic institutions in order to ensure the “prevention of disorder” and the “protection of the rights of others”. It also guaranteed the rule of law and legal certainty. 80. With regard to the necessity of the interference in a democratic society, the Government emphasised that different societies reacted to the phenomenon of ballot photographs in different ways, depending on their historical experiences and legal and cultural traditions. In the absence of a European consensus, the member States had a wide margin of appreciation in this field and the domestic authorities were better placed to respond to the needs of society. 81. The Government argued that there was a pressing social need to maintain the prohibition on taking ballot papers outside the polling station, in either their physical or virtual form. Firstly, the general prohibition on taking photographs was necessary in order to prevent vote buying. Although it was not suggested that this was an actual problem in the present case, this type of election fraud had previously occurred in the form of chain-voting. Moreover, in the Government’s view, the use of mobile applications had an impact on the fairness of the electoral process also because it could undermine the public’s trust in the functioning of the electoral bodies and the official results. Applications that processed data on cast ballots without complying with the strict data security standards applicable to official electoral IT systems might provide results different from those of the electoral bodies, thereby casting doubt on the legality of the latter’s work.