The wide variety of electoral systems have been grist to generations of legal specialists, political analysts and mathematicians and will continue to be so. It is true that they do not all without exception guarantee that national minorities are fairly represented, but the main conclusion which may be drawn from the foregoing analysis is that there is no absolute rule in this field. Indeed, the electoral system is but one of the factors conditioning the presence of members of minorities in an elected body. Other elements also have a bearing, such as the choice of candidates by the political parties and, obviously, voters' choices, which are only partly dependent on the electoral system. The concentrated or dispersed nature of the minority may also have a part to play, as may the extent to which it is integrated into society, and, above all, its numerical size.

Nevertheless, the electoral system is not irrelevant to the participation of members of minorities in public life. On the one hand, certain states - but they are few in number - have specific rules designed to ensure such participation. On the other hand, it may be that neutral rules - for example, those relating to the drawing of constituency boundaries - are applied with the intention of making it easier for minorities to be represented. More often than not, however, the representation of minorities is not a deciding factor in the choices made when an electoral system is adopted or even put into practice. However, as regards the presence of members of minorities in elected bodies, the following general remarks may be made.

- The impact of an electoral system on the representation of minorities is felt most clearly when national minorities have their own parties.

- It is uncommon for political parties representing national minorities to be prohibited by law and highly unusual for this in fact to happen. Only in very rare cases does this constitute a restriction upon the freedom of association, which nonetheless respects the principle of proportionality, and is consistent with the European constitutional heritage.

- Although parties representing national minorities are very widely permitted, their existence is neither the rule nor indispensable to the presence of persons belonging to minorities in elected bodies.

- The more an electoral system is proportional, the greater the chances dispersed minorities or those with few members have of being represented in the elected body. The number of seats per constituency is a decisive factor in the proportionality of the system.

- When lists are not closed, a voter's choice may take account of whether or not the candidates belong to national minorities. Whether or not such freedom of choice is favourable or unfavourable to minorities depends on many factors, including the numerical size of the minorities.

- Unequal representation may have an influence (positive or negative) on the representation of concentrated minorities, but the replies to the questionnaire do not indicate any concrete instances.

- When a territory where a minority is in the majority is recognised as a constituency, this helps the minority to be represented in the elected bodies, especially if a majority system is applied.

To sum up, the participation of members of national minorities in public life through elected office results not so much from the application of rules peculiar to the minorities, as from the implementation of general rules of electoral law, adjusted, if need be, to increase the chances of success of the candidates from such minorities.