THE GEORGIAN LABOUR PARTY v. GEORGIA JUDGMENT 41 (c) Failure to secure the repeat election in Khulo and Kobuleti and the vote tally of 18 April 2004 131. The Government’s main argument is that the failure to hold elections in Khulo and Kobuleti on 18 April 2004 should be imputed solely to the Ajarian authorities which were responsible for escalating tensions in the region (see paragraphs 112-13 above). However, the Court notes that the Georgian State did not avail itself of the right of derogation under Article 15 of the Convention at the time of the alleged emergency situation in the AAR. This absence of a derogation suffices in itself for the Court to conclude that the respondent State cannot validly claim absolution from its obligations under Article 3 of Protocol No. 1. 132. Furthermore, in the landmark case of Assanidze, to which the Government themselves referred, the central authorities of the Georgian State were found by the Court to be strictly liable under the Convention for the conduct of the Ajarian authorities (see Assanidze, cited above, §§ 14450). Consequently, even assuming that the failure to secure Khulo and Kobuleti voters’ participation in the repeat parliamentary election lay fully within the power of the local authorities, the respondent State cannot be absolved from its responsibility under Article 3 of Protocol No. 1, read in conjunction with Article 1 of the Convention. The general duty imposed on the State by Article 1 of the Convention entails and requires the implementation of a national system capable of securing compliance with the Convention throughout the territory of the State for everyone (ibid., § 147). 133. The malfunctioning of parts of the State machinery in Georgia, and the resultant lack of effective subordination between the central and Ajarian authorities, do not mean that the actual facts out of which the allegations of violations arose in the present case were not within the jurisdiction of the Georgian State (ibid., § 143). In particular, the Court cannot discern from the material in its possession that the situation in the AAR at the relevant time was significantly different from that described in the Assanidze case. It is regrettable that, in making a far-reaching allegation that tensions between the central and local authorities had degenerated into an armed clash, the Government did not corroborate it with any material evidence (official reports, video materials, articles in the press, etc.). The Court is therefore unable to assess the significance of this submission in particular, or the relevant historical events in general. Furthermore, it is striking that, when the assertion was made that the armed individuals who attacked the electoral group had been convicted of obstructing the electoral process (see paragraph 113 above), no copies of the relevant criminal records were submitted to the Court for examination. The case file does not contain any report or other working document drawn up by the electoral group in question which could account for the events on the AAR administrative border.