104 3. Right to vote 271. Article 23 of the American Convention provides that: “(1) Every citizen shall enjoy the following rights and opportunities: (a) to take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or through freely chosen representatives; (b) to vote and to be elected in genuine periodic elections, which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and by secret ballot […].” With regard to operationalizing the exercise of these rights, it provides that: “(2) The law may regulate the exercise of the rights and opportunities referred to in the preceding paragraph only on the basis of age, nationality, residence, language, education, civil and mental capacity, or sentencing by a competent court in criminal proceedings.” 272. As for the content and scope of this provision, the Inter-American Court has established as a fundamental principle that the rights set forth therein “must be guaranteed by the State under conditions of equality.” For this purpose, the Court deems it indispensable for the State to “generate the optimum conditions and mechanisms to ensure that these political rights can be exercised effectively, respecting the principles of equality and non-discrimination.” The Court has further noted that this obligation “is not fulfilled merely by issuing laws and regulations that formally recognize these rights, but requires the State to adopt the necessary measures to guarantee their full exercise considering the weakness or helplessness of the members of certain social groups or sectors.” Accordingly, the Court considers that the right to vote is “an 368 essential element for the existence of democracy.” 273. The Inter-American Commission notes that while inmates’ right to vote in general is a complex issue and calls for a much broader examination taking into account the latest developments in international law and the legislative progress achieved by some States on this matter, it is clear to the Commission that with respect to persons deprived of liberty in pretrial detention, the exercise of this right is effectively guaranteed under Articles 23 and 8.2 of the American Convention. In other words, the Commission finds that there is no valid legal basis under the American Convention to support any restriction on this right for persons held in State custody as a 369 precautionary measure. 274. The reason for this is that the exercise of the rights set forth under subsection 1 of Article 23 of the Convention may only be restricted for the reasons expressly listed under subsection 2 of that Article, which evidently are not applicable to persons who have not been convicted. Furthermore, such a restriction is clearly incompatible with the right to the presumption of innocence, which as has been noted, 368 I/A Court HR., Case of Yatama v. Nicaragua. Judgment June 23, 2005. Series C No. 127, paras. 194, 195, 198 and 201. 369 Similarly, the SRT has stated that “[i]n principle, detainees shall also be enabled to exercise their right to vote and other forms of participation in the conduct of public affairs, in accordance with Article 25 of the International Covenant [on Civil and Political Rights].” UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Interim Report A/64/215, published on August 3, 2009, para. 54.