Ethnocultural Voting? Explaining Ethnic Minority Preferences in Bulgarian Elections

Conventional models of electoral choice explain the ethnic minority vote as a product of nonideological factors, primarily ethnic identities. However, the voting preferences of the minority electorate based on their policy and attitudinal dimensions have not been systematically studied. How are minority interests represented in politics? Although their culturally based proximity to ethnic parties and minority representatives is well established, may we expect the electoral preferences of minorities to also reflect policy positions, economic concerns, or political attitudes? This article sets out to examine the sources and intensity of the electoral preferences of minority voters on the example of electoral support for the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF), a party traditionally regarded as a representative of the ethnic Turkish minority in Bulgaria, a less conventional case of minority participation in politics. Based on analysis of survey data, the article demonstrates that the preferences of the ethnic minority electorate are also the product of policy positions, economic interests, and political attitudes overlapping with social identities. It concludes that the representation of the ethnic minorities through an ethnopolitical party is a stable outcome reflecting the interests of minority voters.