Manipulation and Threat : The non-representation of Roma candidates at the local elections in Romania
Authors:   , Buta Oana Georgiana 
Published: July 2024

Why are Roma (not) represented on the electoral lists of the mainstream political parties? Whereas the political representation of the Roma minority has primarily been approached through ethnic lenses, focusing either on Roma ethnic parties or on other types of organizations, the role of mainstream political parties is typically considered marginal in the process. This might seem counter-intuitive, considering that previous studies have provided ample confirmation that political parties are the main gate-keepers to representation, not only when it comes to the majority population, but also to minority groups. An additional aspect that is extremely important for understanding the phenomenon of under-representation is the process of selection of candidates, as the focal point that shapes how inclusive representative bodies and their members will be with regard to the ethnic element. In order to cover this gap, this PhD study unpacks the nomination of Roma candidates by mainstream political parties in the context of the 2016 local elections in Romania. Combining theories of political representation from the literature on political parties and ethnic studies, it argues that minority nomination is dependent on the electoral resources of political parties. Electoral resources – defined here as the size of the party, change of party leadership, party competition, presence/absence of Roma political parties, and the size of the Roma groups – are tested for their relative impact on Roma nomination, following two different and supplementary methods. First, a quantitative study is conducted based on 289 party lists in 77 localities with a minimum of 1% of Roma population from three counties: Galati, Iasi and Salaj. The quantitative study is supplemented by a qualitative analysis based on 39 semi-structured interviews with local party leaders belonging to five mainstream political parties: Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, Popular Movement Party, National Liberal Party, Social Democratic Party, and National Union for the Progress of Romania. The statistical results show that mainstream political parties are only motivated to include Roma candidates on their party lists once the size of the Roma community is large, with all the other tested variables receiving either weak or no statistical support. However, explanations based strictly on cost-benefit calculations should be interpreted with caution, as without taking into consideration the contextual aspects such explanations can lead to inaccurate conclusions. The size of the minority groups does not always outweigh other losses, as long as the discriminatory and biased attitudes of the mainstream party leaders govern the nomination process. Additionally, the manipulation and control of the Roma voters by incumbent local political parties interfere in the process. Abusing their powers to distribute social benefits and taking advantage of the precarious socio-economic situation of most of the Roma, local incumbent political parties reserve Roma votes for themselves and directly exclude the option of having Roma candidates on their party lists. Consequently, the representative chain whereby Roma voters would choose their representatives in accordance with their free will to voice their issues and interests is broken as long as voters are forced to vote for a political representative that not only is not interested in acting for them, but defies and disrespects democratic principles.