91 will of the electorate, which implies grave consequences for democracy. This harm to the electors constituted non-compliance by the State with the general obligation to guarantee the exercise of the right to vote embodied in Article 1(1) of the Convention. 227. To assess the scope of this harm, it should be recalled that YATAMA contributes to the consolidation and preservation of the cultural identity of the members of the indigenous and ethnic communities of the Atlantic Coast. Its structure and purposes are related to the practices, customs and forms of organization of these communities. Consequently, the exclusion of the participation of the YATAMA candidates particularly affected the members of the indigenous and ethnic communities that were represented by this organization in the municipal elections of November 2000, by placing them in a situation of inequality as regards the options among which they could choose to vote, since those persons who, in principle, deserved their confidence because they had been chosen directly in assemblies (according to the practices and customs of these communities) to represent the interests of their members, had been excluded from participating as candidates. This exclusion resulted in a lack of representation of the needs of the members of the said communities in the regional bodies responsible for adopting policies and programs that could affect their development. 228. This harm to the voters was reflected in the 2000 municipal elections; for example, there was an abstention rate of approximately 80% in the RAAN, due to the fact that part of the electorate did not consider they were adequately represented by the participating parties (supra para. 124(69)) and five political parties requested the Supreme Electoral Council to “[d]eclare the nullity of the elections in the RAAN[… and o]rganize new municipal elections […], with the inclusion of the YATAMA Indigenous Party” (supra para. 124(71)). Also, the expert witness, Carlos Antonio Hurtado Cabrera, emphasized that YATAMA “is the principal indigenous political organization in the country” (supra para. 111). * * * 229. In view of the above, the Court finds that the State violated Articles 23 and 24 of the Convention, in relation to Articles 1(1) and 2 thereof, to the detriment of the candidates proposed by YATAMA to participate in the municipal elections of November 2000, because it established and applied provisions of Electoral Act No. 331 of 2000, that create an undue restriction to the exercise of the right to be elected and regulates these provisions it in a discriminatory manner. The Court also finds that the State violated Article 23(1) of the Convention, in relation to Article 1(1) thereof, to the detriment of these candidates, because the decisions that excluded them from exercising this right were adopted in violation of the guarantees embodied in Article 8 of the Convention and could not contested by means of a judicial recourse (supra paras. 164, 173 and 176). XI REPARATIONS APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 63(1) OBLIGATION TO REPAIR 230. This Court has established that it is a principle of international law that any violation of an international obligation that has produced damage entails the obligation