We Don’t Need You, but Your Votes

Previous research on minority groups (especially women) has identified political parties as the main gatekeepers which constraint the opportunity of representation for these groups, yet less is known about ethnic groups. In an attempt to explain Roma nomination on the list of the five mainstream political parties in Romania at the 2016 local election, this study provides unique data about the phenomenon. However, the main aim of the paper is to understand the mechanisms behind Roma nomination. Drawing on interviews with local party leaders, the study shows that Roma nomination is only part of the strategic behavior of the political parties to attract the Roma electorate. As long as their percentage is big enough, political parties tend to sacrifice, mostly one non-winnable place, for Roma candidates in the name of “fairness and proportionality”. It also shows that bigger political parties have more incentives to add Roma candidates on their lists because they have better connections with the Roma communities or because having the monopoly over the distribution of goods they can control the Roma electorate, transforming them in a tool to help to defeat other competitors. Small parties instead rarely use Roma candidates as, being led by political entrepreneurs, they are aware of the monopoly held by bigger parties over Roma as well as because to assure their access to power they use their networks, networks which are mostly exclusive for Romanian members.