A co-operative risks fragmentation of its business and loss of members if some members feel that their voice is not being heard and that they are not being represented through the democratic process.

Factional elections, where representatives from only one dominant section of the membership succeed, can result in the needs and aspirations of a minority of members not being met. To guard against this, it is best if elected boards represent the diverse views of members.

There is no easy way to guarantee that this will happen in an open democratic system. Members have the responsibility to take account of the risk of disenfranchising minorities when they cast their votes. Boards may also wish to use powers of co-option to ensure that minorities have a voice. Elected members must accept their responsibility to represent the interests of the whole of the membership, not just the majority group which elected them.