A/HRC/26/30 1. Redress for attacks against journalists, activists and political candidates 70. Harassment of, and violence or threats against, journalists, bloggers or other members of the media, activists or political candidates or parties must be prohibited by law and subject to criminal penalties. Equally, as the Human Rights Council recognized in its resolution 21/12 on the safety of journalists, States must ensure accountability through the conduct of impartial, speedy and effective investigations into such acts and bring to justice those responsible, as well as ensuring that victims have access to appropriate remedies. Accountability mechanisms are the only way to ensure that such attacks do not occur with impunity, undermining not only the free expression rights of those involved, but the integrity of the electoral process. States should also ensure that legal frameworks protect the rights to peaceful assembly and association during electoral processes, and should eliminate any practical barriers to the conduct of protests and demonstrations. 2. Electoral commissions 71. In many States, electoral commissions are endowed with a range of responsibilities that are an essential guarantee against violations of the right to freedom of expression during electoral processes. Those responsibilities include election monitoring, the regulation of political funding, the provision of direct access to public broadcasting media and the monitoring of political speech. However, electoral commissions are often badly resourced and lack the necessary regulatory mandate and enforcement powers to fulfil their responsibilities and guarantee accountability and transparency in the electoral process. In order to ensure that electoral commissions are integral in a free, fair and accountable democratic process, States should ensure that they are given sufficient financial and human resources, and enforcement powers, to carry out their duties effectively and efficiently. 3. Opinion polls 72. Opinion polls can be an important source of accountability, by providing information for voters, educating them about the political landscape and contextualizing the electoral process. However, some argue that opinion polls may also operate to influence the voting pattern of electorates on the basis of the opinions of a small and non-representative segment of society. When opinion polls are conducted by corporate media entities, there are also concerns that they may allow the private sector to exert influence on the outcome of electoral processes. 73. Concerns about the possible manipulation of opinion polls to influence electoral processes lead some States to restrict the dissemination of poll results for short periods leading up to an election; in general the period ranges from 24 to 36 hours. This restriction is sometimes justified by the limited capacity for verification of the methodology used by the polling agency before the election takes place. In order to ensure transparency and avoid the misuse of opinion polls, some countries have adopted requirements on the public disclosure of the methodology implemented in opinion polling exercises. 74. Exit polling, where voters are surveyed upon exiting a polling booth, are also considered risky when their results are reported while votes are being counted. Thus, many countries prevent the publication of exit polls until the conclusion of voting. VII. Conclusions and recommendations 75. Freedom of expression plays a central role in ensuring that political processes are open, free and fair, thus guaranteeing a functioning and effective democracy. The right to participate in public life cannot be fully realized without ensuring the right to freedom of opinion and expression in all its dimensions. Free elections become 19