Political Analyst, Dr. Kwame Asah Asante has said that political parties have found innovative ways to go about their campaigning ahead of the December 7 elections regardless of the restrictions in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to him, the inventiveness of political parties should be acknowledged as their campaigns have not only evolved into issue-based ones but have also made use of numerous platforms that meet the needs of their diverse publics.
The analyst said this in an interview with Happy 98.9 FM’s Samuel Eshun, host of the Happy Morning Show.
“Political campaigns are still going on but the catch here is that politicians don’t get the chance to interact with a lot of people.
Research shows that interacting with the public is an integral part of winning an election but that is not happening now. But you see them using different means of campaigning which is commendable”.
Dr Asah Asante, however, noted that the use of traditional media and digital resources mainly for this year’s campaigns has placed limitations on the ‘smaller’ political parties.
“One thing affecting the campaign is where the messages are being carried. With most parties campaigning on TV, radio and social media, some other smaller ones have no money to do same and that is affecting them.
He furthered that the use of social media also prevents the information from reaching the aged and those without access to internet connectivity.
“Most political parties who have the money can afford to use social media platforms as a medium to reach their audience but they wouldn’t be able to reach all because not everyone including some of the old and aged happens to be on social media.
Responding to the question, what influences voters during an election? Dr Asah Asante went ahead to say that the reasons vary.
“Some people will vote for a political party based on what they stand for and what they believe in. Some also look at the policies set by the government, the security and peace enjoyed in the country”.
These are some of the things that he believes will push the citizens to vote for a particular political party.
By: Gyamfuah Owusu-Ackom