Got Elections?
Recently Grenada had their elections where the new government won a 15-0 total majority in their parliament. Today Barbados goes to the polls to elect a new Government. the Choice is between the Democratic or Barbados labour parties. And finally but most importantly the Student Government Elections here at my University. I chose be apart the race but, the economic question which might just help my campaign is why do people vote and why do they vote for a particular person.
Many will argue that in a general country election people vote majorly among party lines and elections are won based on swing votes. So in the US the undecided voters are the ones who determine the next president which is what happened in the November elections to return Barack Obama to the White house. But what the rationale for voting for different people from different backgrounds most of them you will not know, or even hear from after the election. Some say in student elections its all about popularity which is true to some extent. But perception and political culture also determine the choices in these elections. So if the school has culture of low voter turn out then that culture may continue from year to year unless something out of the ordinary happens which rarely ever does. The other is perception; who do you perceive your candidate to be are they "worthy" of your time, effort and most importantly your vote.
Having watched elections over the past 12 years I think I know a thing or two about elections and how to strategize and gain political mileage. The key to winning elections is the same goal of the media, and that is to impact on perception or to Manage Impressions. If you get people to remember you, you will gain some amount of advantage. Sensationalism is another key area the primary goal is to play on what the people want in your speech and you will capture the sensationalist. Thirdly to capture the influential and critical demographic is where the skills of persuasion must be deployed. People need to know that you are serious.
PS. I just gave away tons of political tools and I can assure you that no one apart from my strategy partner and his running mate, will see this article.
Many will argue that in a general country election people vote majorly among party lines and elections are won based on swing votes. So in the US the undecided voters are the ones who determine the next president which is what happened in the November elections to return Barack Obama to the White house. But what the rationale for voting for different people from different backgrounds most of them you will not know, or even hear from after the election. Some say in student elections its all about popularity which is true to some extent. But perception and political culture also determine the choices in these elections. So if the school has culture of low voter turn out then that culture may continue from year to year unless something out of the ordinary happens which rarely ever does. The other is perception; who do you perceive your candidate to be are they "worthy" of your time, effort and most importantly your vote.
Having watched elections over the past 12 years I think I know a thing or two about elections and how to strategize and gain political mileage. The key to winning elections is the same goal of the media, and that is to impact on perception or to Manage Impressions. If you get people to remember you, you will gain some amount of advantage. Sensationalism is another key area the primary goal is to play on what the people want in your speech and you will capture the sensationalist. Thirdly to capture the influential and critical demographic is where the skills of persuasion must be deployed. People need to know that you are serious.
PS. I just gave away tons of political tools and I can assure you that no one apart from my strategy partner and his running mate, will see this article.
Comments
Post a Comment