POLITICAL MARKETING AND ELECTORATE’S CHOICE OF POLITICAL CANDIDATES IN KWARA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The need for political parties and candidates to be electorate driven in their political activities, has led to the adoption of marketing principles to political processes and election campaigns. Political marketing offers political candidates and their parties the capability to address diverse electorate concerns and needs through appropriate marketing analyses. This article examines the relationship between political marketing tools and electorate’s choice of political candidates as well as the effect of political marketing tools and electorate’s choice of political candidates in Kwara State. The study’s primary data was collected through a structured questionnaire that was administered to 384 respondents who were selected through a combination of stratified, simple random and purposive sampling techniques from the three senatorial districts of the state. Multiple regression analysis technique was the statistical method used to test the hypotheses formulated for the study. The results revealed that the electorate’s choice of candidates has a positive relationship with almost all the political marketing tools except a needs-oriented manifesto. It was also found that political marketing tools have a positive effect on the electorate’s choice of candidates. It is concluded that political marketing tools have a positive relationship with the electorate’s choice of political candidates. The study recommends that political parties and candidates should explore, recognise and understand the relationship that exists between political marketing and the electorate’s choice of candidates. Political parties can do this by placing emphasis on efficient and effective utilisation of these political marketing tools.