In general, the electoral rules that favour affirmative action have limited range. The number of beneficiaries of such electoral rules is clearly and sharply determined either by the Constitution or the Law or by other accompanying legislative acts. For example, the number of parliamentary seats guaranteed to minorities is almost always lower than the number of minorities present in the country. Affirmative action may apply only at national, regional, local or even European level, and/or only in a part of the country. This means that the original inspiration for such electoral rules is not purely legally based, but probably political. The legislators are forced to use political criteria for classifying and treating a number of national minorities as one group for the purpose of election of a joint representative. The great differences in the number of members of particular minorities reduce the electoral chances of some minorities, because seats go to the candidate of the minority with the largest number of voters. This is a particularly relevant problem of affirmative action having in mind that the definitions of national minorities applied in each country are ad hoc, vague and vary significantly.