Romanian Voters in Transylvania and Hungary. The 1881-1884 Electoral Survey by the Romanian National Party

The study analyses the electoral statistics compiled by the Romanian National Party between 1881 and 1884, with the aim to identify how the internal organization of the party functioned, the details of its relationship with local leaders and voters, and to understand why, despite the existence of a Romanian electoral majority in several dozen electoral districts, the results in parliamentary elections were always below expectations. The conclusions underline the fact that, despite a good internal organization at the top, the relationship with the leaders in the territory remained difficult, while the relationship with the Romanian electorate was burdened by the precarious political culture of the latter, as well as by the obstinacy of the passivist tactics, which generated a rift between the voters and the party leadership, facilitating the success of the election fraud practices.