Social Class and Voting Behavior of the People in Mukono Municipality, Kampala, Uganda~

ABSTRACT This study established the relationship between social class and voting behavior in the people of Mukono Municipality, Mukono district. Specifically it was guided by four objectives, (1) to determine the demographic characteristics of the participants, (2) to determine the level of influence of social class, (3), to determine the level of voting behavior, and (4) to establish whether there is a significant relationship between social class and voting behavior. The study used descriptive correlation survey and data was collected from 150 participants from Mukono Municipality using questionnaires. Data was described using frequencies for the participants’ profile, means for the level of social class and voting behavior and analyzed using Pearson linear correlation coefficient to establish the relationship between social class and voting behavior. The study found out that majority of people in Mukono Municipality are female (58.7%), there are more Catholics (30.7%) than other religions, most were married (48.7%) and age group ranged betweenl8 and 30 year. Diplomas (22%) and secondary participants (32.6)% constituted more than 50 %, and most participants were renting (53.3%) as their housing status. The findings also indicated a significant relationship between social class and voting behavior since the sig. value was 0.001. From the findings, the following conclusions were made;- People or individuals are usually grouped into classes basing on their economic positions and similar political and economic interests meaning that income levels do influence one’s voting behavior and people of the same social class vote in a similar way for the same candidates, people in the same class share the same information which also influence one’s voting behavior, some attend rallies and campaigns together while others influence their colleagues to listen to, watch and attempt the same media channels, People of a similar social class may listen to different radio stations, televisions. Therefore people of the same class vote similarly or in a similar way for the same candidates, considering the same issues before voting which include one’s education level, personal traits of the candidate, can be affiliated to the same party, their employment affiliation and others vote in a similar way like their family members.