Electoral Right

the subjective right of the citizen to participate in the formation of elected state bodies. There are two categories of this right: the active, or general, electoral right, which is the right to elect (the right to vote) and which includes the right to participate in referendums; and the passive electoral right, the right to be elected. In socialist countries, the electoral right also means the right of the citizen to participate in the administration of elections through electing the members of electoral commissions and through working in these commissions, as well as the right to control the work of an elected deputy or judge and, if need be, the right to participate in resolving the question of recall of the deputy or judge.

The electoral right is protected by an aggregate of legal norms regulating the procedure of forming elective state bodies. Electoral law is an important institution of state law. The basic principles of electoral law are usually stated in constitutions, and most of the rules are codified in special electoral legislation (for example, in the USSR they are codified in the Election Statutes). The principles and conditions of citizen participation in the formation of elected state bodies and the organization and procedures for elections and for recall of members of these bodies are fixed in electoral law.