2 COMMUNIST PARTY OF RUSSIA AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA JUDGMENT examined in proceedings which had not been “fair” within the meaning of Article 6 of the Convention. 4. On 1 October 2010 the President of the First Section decided to give notice of the application to the Government. It was also decided to rule on the admissibility and merits of the applications at the same time (Article 29 § 1). THE FACTS I. THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE A. The 2003 elections – general overview 5. On 3 September 2003 the President of Russia decided that election of members to the State Duma, the lower chamber of the Russian federal parliament, would take place on 7 December 2003. During this election campaign, 23 electoral associations - political parties and electoral blocs were registered as standing for election in the federal contest. The progovernment forces in the 2003 elections were represented essentially by the United Russia party. The electoral list of United Russia included many high-ranking federal officials and regional governors. 6. The Communist Party and the Yabloko party put forward their lists of candidates. The third applicant ran on the Yabloko ticket. The sixth applicant ran as an independent candidate in a single-mandate electoral district. The eighth applicant ran on the ticket of the political party Soyuz Pravykh Sil (SPS). She also ran in a single-mandate electoral district. All the individual applicants also participated in the 2003 electoral campaign as voters. Although the political platforms of the applicants who participated in the 2003 elections were different, all of them positioned themselves as opposition parties and candidates. 7. The electoral process was administered by the Central Election Commission (the CEC). Similar commissions were created at regional level. The CEC’s role was, inter alia, to examine complaints of candidates or voters about breaches of electoral law, and take the necessary measures to prevent or put an end to such breaches. The CEC was also responsible for counting the votes on election day and announcing the official results of the elections. In September 2003 the CEC created a Working Group on Information Disputes, an advisory body which was supposed to assist in overseeing compliance with the rules on allocation of free airtime, publication of opinion polls and illegal campaigning.