Abstract
The article analyses the drafting history and background of the ‘political clause’ of the European Convention on Human Rights – Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 which provides for the right to free elections. It discusses main concepts developed by the Strasbourg Court's jurisprudence concerning that clause. Special attention is devoted to the new trends in the case-law, including gradual emergence of procedural obligations under Article 3, its interplay with other substantive provisions of the Convention, the influence of the ‘soft-law’ instruments emanating from other organs of the Council of Europe, primarily texts of the Venice Commission. In conclusion, two options regarding further development of the Court's case-law on the right to free elections are proposed: the avenue of newly emerging guarantees and the avenue of two (narrower and wider) layers of protection.