“Our struggle from Ighiu” – parliamentary elections, rural electorate and Romanian nationalism in a Transylvanian constituency (1905–1910)

Abstract

The study analyzes – from a micro-historical perspective – the electoral dynamics in the Magyarigen/ Ighiu constituency (Alsó-Fehér county, Transylvania) in the period of 1905–1910. The research captures the strong mobilization of the Romanian electorate with the emergence of a nationalist candidate, but also the limits of national solidarity and of ethnic-based electoral involvement at the rural level. It highlights the electoral tactics, abuses and administrative pressures as well as their impact on voting behaviour, demonstrating that the success of the ruling party depended not only on fraud, but also on the dynamics of absenteeism and ambivalent or undecided voters. The relationship between nationalist discourse and electoral mobilization is questioned, suggesting the need for a nuanced approach to the social, professional and identity constraints that shaped the electoral choices of the time, including those behaviours that fall into the analytical category of “indifference,” whether national or political.