Changing Forms Of Political Communication And Voter Choices In Ghana’s Elections, 1992-2008

ABSTRACT The Fourth Republic has witnessed six successive elections, including those of 1992, 2000 and 2008, which have been examined in this thesis. In all these elections, the role of political communication has been crucial in determining voter choices. Accounting for the accretion of political communication is the liberalization of the media landscape in 1995, which led to the proliferation of radio and television stations as a complement to the explosion of newspapers after the restoration of democratic rule in 1992. In these elections, politicians have made effective use of messages and channels of communication to influence the choice of the electorate. Of the messages that have been used with great effect, those relating to the economy, development, corruption, slogans and gestures stand out. This study, which examined the changes in forms and sophistication of political communication and their ultimate influence on voter choices in the three elections, found out that messages on the economy were most important in influencing voter choices. Significant though were messages on development, corruption and in slogan and gesture, their impact was not phenomenal as the economy. Of least influence were messages on ethnicity, human rights, accountability and transparency. In this study, political rally which emerged as the most influential channels of communicating messages to voters during the three elections has exposed the limitations of the impact of traditional media channels in effectively communicating messages during elections. That said, the study has underscored the relevance of political communication in elections and identified the type of messages and appropriate channels available to politicians to communicate their messages. To influence more voters, politicians should seek expert advice in identifying issues of concern to the electorate and develop them into effective messages as well as select relevant channels to communicate such messages.