Frequently such people are given no real mandate for action or decision. To be a pseudo-stakeholder, which is what they really are, is a thankless position. Look at this from the stakeholders' points of view. The project already has delegated authority to achieve its goals under the direction of a professional project manager. If your interests as a stakeholder are also delegated to a representative, then the chances of any conflict of interest between you and the project sponsor being negotiated successfully by these representatives are very small.
Stakeholders typically personify particular business perspectives on the project.
If your particular perspective is not realistically represented, then the project may not be able to succeed as its model of the world will be flawed. This leads us to consider what it means to you to be a stakeholder. Understanding your stakeholding means admitting that you have strong feelings about your knowledge, views and actions, the way that they are used and the way that you are treated. You also have ambition and like most humans you are not necessarily enthusiastic about change where it affects you directly. Figure 3 illustrates how a balance between these characteristics means that your stakeholding contributes a positive Connection to the elements of the project.