5 of the voters” has been enhanced by important institutional evolutions in domestic law and in the inter-American system itself in light of which this general provision of the Convention must be interpreted and applied, with regard to both the rights of the citizens and the obligations of the State. As regards the right to take part in the conduct of public affairs, the Inter-American Democratic Charter has summarized and expressed the current consensual status in the inter-American system with regard to the “free expression of the will of the voters.” 22. Indeed, the Charter reiterates principles that coincide in general with the contents of the Convention when it 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” (Article 3). 23. As we can see, at least two important aspects of the requirements that the Convention already contained were clarified and developed by the Inter-American Democratic Charter: (a) not only the access to power but also its exercise should be subject to the rule of law; in this way, the “legitimacy of exercise” is added as an inter-American principle to the already recognized “legitimacy of origin”; (b) the pluralistic system of political parties and organizations. The political parties merit a specific additional consideration in the Charter, since it stipulates that “The strengthening of political parties and other political organizations is a priority for democracy. Special attention will be paid to the problems associated with the high cost of election campaigns and the establishment of a balanced and transparent system for their financing” (Article 5, underlining added). Reading the American Convention in light of these conceptual evolutions that the inter-American consensus has expressed in the Democratic Charter shows that the free expression of the will of the electors would be affected if authorities elected under the rule of law (legitimacy of origin) exercise their functions in violation of the rule of law. 24. In relation to political parties and organizations, this is an absolutely central issue that has direct repercussions as regards the rights of those who tried unsuccessfully to be candidates for YATAMA on the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua. Curiously, this issue is not mentioned explicitly in the OAS Charter or in the American Convention. However, the conceptual essence of representative democracy presumes and requires ways of representation that, in light of the provisions of the Democratic Charter, would be the parties and “other political organizations” that should be protected and also strengthened according to the provisions of Article 5. 25. With regard to political parties and “other political organizations,” a first issue to mention is that, since they are considered essential elements for channeling the free will of the voters, it is the State’s obligation to provide the conditions for strengthening these means of representation; contrario sensu, to abstain from adopting measures that could weaken them. The Democratic Charter mentions explicitly the issue of the financing of electoral campaigns as a matter to which attention should be paid, and also emphasizes the need to ensure “the establishment of a balanced and transparent system for their financing.” Without mentioning it, the Democratic Charter is conveying that, faced with possible imbalances and inequalities, a counterbalancing system should be ensured in order to achieve the