In the case of Kokëdhima v. Albania the Court held that there had been no violation of the right to free elections.

The case concerned the decision to remove the applicant from office as a Member of Parliament because of a conflict of interest with his ownership of a company that received income from public resources.

The Constitutional Court had taken particular issue with the fact that the applicant had only sold the shares in his company more than six months after his election. The ECHR could not find anything arbitrary or manifestly unreasonable in that approach. Moreover, the applicant had to have known about the applicable laws and practice in his case and therefore could have foreseen that continuing to benefit from income generated from contracts with public authorities in his new role as an MP would amount to a conflict in interest.

• Press release