The evolution of the criminalisation of actions aimed against elections

The elections, and their course in particular, are an immensely significant element of the society’s participation in the public life and, as such, they should be placed under the special protection of the state. This can be justified by the peculiar role of elections – that of the core of democracy. The means of protection include the penal regulations which sanction breaches of the voting rules. As a result of the analysis of the current trend in the evolution of the criminalisation of various acts aimed against voting, one may notice that those regulations are introduced in a dual manner. Initially, the actions which violate the voting rules were specified as a part of the penal legislation, however, after 1989, they are also included in the election acts.