MAGYAR KÉTFARKÚ KUTYA PÁRT v. HUNGARY JUDGMENT 31 71. Accepting that States enjoyed a wide margin of appreciation when regulating elections, the MKKP argued that this did not extend to freedom of expression; the protection of rights under Article 10 could not be diminished by reference to the right to free elections. 72. In support of the argument that the interference had not been necessary in a democratic society, the MKKP pointed to the fact that the secrecy of the vote was a right but not an obligation under Hungarian law, and that in any event, since the published ballot photographs technically could not be linked to the individual voters, their posting had not infringed the secrecy of the ballot. 73. On the other hand, the MKKP emphasised the relevance of its conduct, submitting that the mobile application had been developed for a highly controversial, “unacceptable” and “unreasonable” referendum. It explained that the vote had been preceded by intense government campaigning to which it had replied on billboards using absurd humour. Most of the opposition parties had emphasised the manipulative and unintelligible nature of the referendum and called for a boycott, while others, such as itself, had encouraged voters to participate but to cast an invalid ballot. 74. The MKKP further stressed that its conduct had contributed to the democratic process, since in the age of the information society, social media became an important tool of public discourse. Furthermore, sharing the act of casting a vote, besides being an event of contemporary life, was an expression of political speech and a conscious activity of citizens. The applicant party emphasised that posting ballot photographs via the mobile application reinforced democracy as it encouraged others to take part in the voting process. It was also of the view that by providing people with an anonymous forum for doing so, it had made it possible to avoid the possible risk of abuse inherent in other forums such as social media. 75. Finally, the MKKP contended that, as was apparent from the Kúria’s decisions, the domestic authorities had not carried out a proper balancing exercise between the protection of the principle of the exercise of rights in accordance with their purpose, on the one hand, and freedom to receive and impart information, on the other. Had such a balancing exercise been carried out, it would have been obvious to the domestic authorities that neither the fairness nor the secrecy of the vote had been jeopardised. 2. The Government 76. The Government did not contest that the MKKP’s arguments before the Court disclosed interference with its freedom of expression. 77. As to the legal basis of the interference, the Government maintained that the taking of ballot photographs was contrary to section 2(1)(e) of the Electoral Procedure Act, which required rights to be exercised in accordance with their purpose. This notion had been interpreted by the NEC