Are “minority parties” an effective vehicle for the representation of minorities?
In some states minorities choose to back parties which are very clearly defined as vehicles to promote and protect the interests of that minority. For example the Peoples National Congress dominated by Afro-Guyanese in Guyana, or the National Federation Party of Indians in Fiji. If minority groups freely choose to back such “ethnically based” parties then the effectiveness of their strategy will only be shown by how well the party can influence government policy and encourage tolerance. However, if minority ethnic parties are either ignored by government or created by the rulers as empty distractions from real minority rights, then the “minority party” will not be an effective voice for the minority group. Some democratic thinkers argue that minority interests are better served when minority politicians are integrated into all the mainstream, majority led, political parties. For example in Canada, Francophone Canadian parliamentarians are overwhelmingly found on the benches of the Bloc
