38 instant case (supra para. 22). The Court will now examine the arguments of the parties and will decide on the alleged violation of the political rights embodied in Article 23 of the American Convention. I. Political Rights in a democratic society 140. Political rights are human rights of fundamental importance within the interAmerican system and they are closely related to other rights embodied in the American Convention, such as freedom of expression, and freedom of association and assembly; together, they make democracy possible. The Court underscores the importance of political rights and recalls that Article 27 of the American Convention prohibits their suspension and establishes the judicial guarantees essential for their protection.49 141. The political rights embodied in the American Convention, as well as in diverse international instruments,50 promote the strengthening of democracy and political pluralism. The Court has stated that “[r]epresentative democracy is a determinant factor of the entire system of which the Convention forms part,” and constitutes “a ‘principle’ reaffirmed by the American States in the OAS Charter, a basic instrument of the Inter-American system.”51 142. In the Inter-American system the relationship between human rights, representative democracy and political rights, in particular, is established in the Inter-American Democratic Charter, adopted on September 11, 2001, at the first plenary session of the twenty-eighth special session of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States. This instrument indicates that: Essential elements of representative democracy include, inter alia, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, access to and the exercise of power in accordance with the rule of law, the holding of periodic, free, and fair elections based on secret balloting and universal suffrage as an expression of the sovereignty of the people, the pluralistic system of political parties and organizations, and the separation of powers and independence of the branches of government.52 143. The Court considers that the effective exercise of political rights constitutes an end in itself and also a fundamental means that democratic societies possess to guarantee the other human rights established in the Convention. II. Content of political rights 144. Article 23(1) of the Convention establishes that every citizen shall enjoy the following rights and opportunities, which must be guaranteed by the State in conditions of equality: (i) to take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or through freely chosen representatives; (ii) to vote and to be elected in genuine periodic elections, which shall be by 49 Cf. The Word “Laws” in Article 30 of the American Convention on Human Rights. Advisory Opinion OC6/86 of May 9, 1986. Series A No. 6, para. 34; and Case of Yatama v. Nicaragua. Preliminary objections, merits, reparations, and costs. Judgment of June 23, 2005. Series C No. 127, para. 191. 50 Some of these international instruments are: the Inter-American Democratic Charter (Articles 2, 3 and 6); the American Convention on Human Rights (Article 23); the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man (Article XX); the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 21); the 1993 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Article 25); Protocol No. 1 to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (Article 3); and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights “Banjul Charter” (Article 13). 51 Cf. The Word “Laws” in Article 30 of the American Convention on Human Rights, supra note 49, para. 34. 52 Cf. Organization of American States. Inter-American Democratic Charter. Adopted at the first plenary session of the OAS General Assembly held on September 11, 2001, during the twenty-eighth session, Article 3.