of its international commitments. instruments alleged to have been It maintains that none of the international violated prohibits the inclusion of persons belonging to political parties or groups in the electoral body. 150. The Respondent State also disputes the claim from the Applicants that the proposing entities, the Higher Judicial Council and the National Human Rights Council should be considered as being aligned with the government. According to them, these bodies are independent. The guarantees of their independence are provided both by their legal framework and their composition. Therefore, they dismiss the claim from the Applicants that the members proposed by these entities do not offer sufficient guarantees of independence and impartiality for two main reasons. First, the personality proposed by the Higher Judicial Council is a judge and, in that capacity, they do not belong to any political grouping. Second, the personality proposed by the National Human Rights Council, whether chosen from within the Council or not, must come from civil society, which offers a further guarantee of their independence. 151. The Respondent State did not make any submissions concerning the claim of the Applicants about the unjustifiable presence in the electoral body of the personalities proposed by the President of the Respondent State and the Minister in charge of Territorial Administration. 152. Regarding the appointment procedure of the members of the electoral body, the Respondent State argues contrary to the position of the Applicants that there is a great difference between the notion of “being proposed’ by an entity and “being a representative”. According to the Respondent State, under the system of representation, power is given to a person to act for and on behalf of another person. For the Respondent State, it is akin to the mechanism of a mandate. Acting for and on behalf of a mandator, the representative or mandatee has no authority of their own and is subjected to instructions and guidelines given by the person they represent. 153. In contrast, under the present system particular member does not entail any of nominations, form the appointment of subordination. Therefore, of a the 33