How far has the Voter Changed into Consumer? Critically Examining Voter Behaviour

Abstract

Over the years, political scientist and recently political marketers have been preoccupied with the interest in comprehending citizens voting behavior – that is what influences their voting decision process. The notion over the years has been that voters make their voting decisions rationally. That said there is a plethora of studies in the literature which cast doubts about the ability of voters to make rational choices in their voting decisions considering the high standard required in rational decision making. This study is therefore by the lack of consensus on factors that influence voter choice. The study set out to examine the factors that influence voter choice behaviour in Ghana‟s election. The study adopted a quantitative approach, specifically cross sectional survey involving 300 respondents who were selected using convenience sampling technique. The study found that candidate‟s image, social imagery, policies and issues have significant on voter choice behaviour. The study also found that situational contingency does not have significant influence on the voting decisions of Ghanaian voters. The study concludes that personality traits such as honesty, trustworthy, compassionate, decisive and incorruptibility, as well as policies and issues are of significant importance to voters in making their voting decisions. The study recommends that political parties and candidates adopts the concept of branding to create and maintain good brand image