THE INFLUENCE OF POLITICAL PARTY SUPPORTERS ON THE SUCCESS OF THE PARTY CANDIDATE ELECTION
Need help with a related project topic or New topic? Send Us Your Topic
DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE PROJECT MATERIAL
THE INFLUENCE OF POLITICAL PARTY SUPPORTERS ON THE SUCCESS OF THE PARTY CANDIDATE ELECTION
CHAPITRE ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of The Study
A political party is an organised group of individuals with a distinct name and possibly an acronym who recruit, train, and field candidates for election to vacant public positions by qualified electorates using the constitutional means of periodic election. Political parties are critical in a democratic system, and their responsibilities cannot be understated (Akinboye, 2015).
Traditional notions of party membership have been challenged in a number of nations in recent years, with non-members or supporters taking on prominent roles in party activities previously associated with official party members (Cross and Gauja, 2014a, Scarrow, 2015).
Parties are having a harder time retaining membership groups, therefore they’re experimenting with new organisational structures to build relationships with those who aren’t members (Scarrow, 2015).
This has manifested itself in a variety of ways, including election campaign participation, candidate and leader selection (including primaries), online policy deliberation, and even policy formation, prompting one author to propose a framework to catalogue these developments, based on distinct boundaries in terms of what activities supporters may or may not participate in (Mjelde, 2015).
This extends far beyond Duverger’s (1954) concentric rings of increasing connection and engagement, in which the line between supporters and members gets increasingly blurred. There are several causes for this.
In the case of Israel, Rahat et al. (2014) say that voter-party de-alignment is hastening the availability of opportunities for supporters, whilst Sandri and Seddone (2015: 25) mention falling party membership and the diminishing significance of cleavage politics.
Indeed, Gauja (2015b) believes that this may signify a shift in political parties, which are now defining and structuring themselves “in terms of individual people rather than group interests.” Election campaigning is critical in terms of supporter activity. Rahat et al.
(2014), for example, uncover that in the Israeli case, parties prioritise recruiting supporters prior to elections, but Fisher et al. (2014) demonstrate that supporter engagement in election campaigns is ubiquitous in the British case.
When they examined district-level campaigns in the 2010 general election, they discovered that supporters were involved in a sizable proportion of them (about three-quarters) (Fisher et al., 2014).
Not only that, but the fans’ participation was vital. Supporters took part in around two-thirds of the activities that members took part in. The key distinction was between high- and low-intensity engagement: supporters were far less likely to engage in pre-election voter contact, such as door-to-door canvassing and phone calls.
Indeed, the results mirrored the experience in Australia, where the distinction between members and supporters is ‘essentially immaterial’ in key campaigning activities like leaflet distribution (Cross and Gauja, 2014b).
Supporters, on the other hand, were more than just extra hands doing the work of members. Members’ acts were supplemented, not replaced, by the activities of supporters.
Finally, Fisher et al. (2014) proved that supporters individually and positively contributed to the campaigns of all three major parties. Many political parties in numerous nations clearly appreciate their supporters.
However, far less study has been conducted to determine the impact of political party supporters on the election success of party candidates.
1.2 Statement of the problem
Political parties are defined by their philosophy and agenda, as well as the fact that they are registered organisations with a distinguishing name or acronym. “Ideology is usually a critical component of political parties and their actions” (Omotola, 2009, p. 1). Political party money can influence the electoral process and is a common source of high-level corruption.
This type of corruption is a big problem in a number of industrialised and developing countries. In underdeveloped countries, the lack of legitimate sources of money, such as business, trade unions, and party membership, combined with costly and antidemocratic party operations, such as vote buying, generates unique incentives for corrupt financing.
The significance of party supporters in the election of party candidates cannot be emphasised, as parties cannot run campaigns without the help of their members and supporters (Sandri, 2015). Elections are won, however, because of the influence of party members who work tirelessly for the success of the party;
however, several factors, such as inequality in dividend distribution after elections, corruption, and so on, limit the extent to which party members contribute to the success. As a result, there is a need to research the impact of political party supporters on party candidate election success.
1.3 Aim of the research
The study’s principal goal is as follows:
1) To investigate the variables that lead people to join a political party.
2) To investigate the difficulties that party members experience when campaigning for their party’s candidate.
3) Determine the significance of party members in winning an election for the party.
4) To provide recommendations on how party members might use their party members’ support to win elections.
1.4 Research Questions
The following study questions have been prepared:
What factors influence people’s decision to join a political party?
What are the difficulties that party members confront when campaigning for their party’s candidate?
What role do party members have in winning elections for the party?
What suggestions do you have on how party members might use the support of their party members to win elections?
1.5 Significance of the research
This research looks at the impact of political party followers on the success of the party candidate election. As a result, the study is important to political parties since it highlights the need of having the support of party members in order to win elections.
The study is important to the academic community since it will add to the existing literature.
1.6 The scope of the research
The research will look into the reasons that lead people to join a political party. The study will also look into the difficulties that party members experience when campaigning for their party’s nominee. The study will also determine the significance of party members in winning an election for the party.
Finally, the study will give recommendations on how party members might use their party members’ support to win elections. As a result, this analysis is restricted to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos state.
1.7 limitations of The study
A variety of difficulties hampered this investigation, which are as follows:
just like any other research, from a lack of needed precise materials on the issue under study to an inability to obtain data
The researcher faced financial constraints in obtaining essential materials as well as printing and collating surveys.
Time limitation: Another constraint is time, which makes it difficult for the researcher to juggle between producing the research and engaging in other academic activity.
1.8 Definitions of terms
A political party is an organisation that organises candidates to run in elections in a certain country.
REFERENCES
S. O. Akinboye and R. Anifowose (2015). “Nigerian Government and Politics,” edited by R. Anifowose and F. Enemuo. Second Edition of Elements of Politics. Sam Iroanusi Publications, Lagos, Bariga.
Exploring the link between members, supporters, groups, and intra-party decision-making in Australia, Cross W and Gauja A (2014b). Paper delivered at the European Consortium for Political Research’s Joint Sessions of Workshops on “Contemporary Meanings of Party Membership,” April 10-15, 2014, University of Salamanca, Spain.
M. Duverger, Political Parties: Their Organisation and Activity in the Modern State, 1954. Methuen Limited, London
J Fisher, E Fieldhouse, and D Cutts (2014) Volunteer participation in British political parties during the 2010 general election was not the only fruit. The British Journal of Politics and International Relations, Vol. 16, No. 1, pp. 75-95.
A. Gauja (2015c) Party membership construction.European Journal of Political Research, volume 54, pages 232-248.
Mjelde H (2015) Non-member political party participation: a framework for analysis and selected empirical examples from Scandinavia. 299-310 in Representation 51(3).
J. S. Omotola (2009). Nigerian Political Parties and Ideology. Alternative Perspectives in the Social Sciences, 1(3), pp. 612-634.
G. Rahat, O. Kenig, and O. Tuttnauer (2014) When politicians, voters, and [even] party members are on the move, the political sands shift. Paper given at workshop on “Contemporary Meanings of Party Membership,” European Consortium for Political Research’s Joint Sessions of Workshops, 10-15 April 2014, Salamanca University, Spain.
Sandri, G., and A. Seddone (2015) Sensibility or sense? Political beliefs and voting habits of Italian center-left party members, voters, and supporters. Rivista Italiana di Scienza/Rivista Italiana di Scienza 45(1): 25-51.
S. Scarrow (2015) Aside from Party Members. Partisan Mobilisation Takes a New Approach. Oxford University Press, Oxford.P. Seyd and P. Whiteley (1992), Labour’s Grassroots. Oxford:Clarendon.Whit and Seyd P.
Need help with a related project topic or New topic? Send Us Your Topic