2 The main obstacle to entering parliament has to do with political parties and how they operate. In most countries, political parties are indispensable to the working of democracy. They aggregate political interests and provide voters with policy choices, which they then bring into the work of parliament and government. In many electoral systems, they act as gatekeepers to parliament, with the power to decide who becomes a candidate for election, and whether they will have a reasonable prospect of winning a seat. Yet the leadership of mainstream political parties tends to be dominated by men from the majority community, who often choose candidates perceived to be 'safe', i.e. who look like themselves and are perceived to share their values. This process excludes those who have a minority background. When mainstream political parties put forward minority candidates, it is often in the hope that these candidates will open up new voter constituencies and attract more voters to the party. However, this incentive is often mitigated by a. perception of political apathy in those communities resulting from poverty, language and education, as well as a reluctance to participate in political processes that many minorities perceive as being controlled by the majority community. The result is a vicious cycle of systematic exclusion of minority candidates.