Influence of Communication Media used by Two Major Political Parties on Social Mobilisation and Voter Participation during the 2019 Presidential Election in Oyo State, Nigeria
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Date
2022-12
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Lead City University
Abstract
Low voter participation in elections have become a global problem, Nigeria inclusive
despite aggressive social mobilisation efforts by stakeholders through the use of the media. Therefore, this work investigated the influence of communication media on social mobilisation and voter participation during 2019 Presidential election in Oyo State, Nigeria. The study adopted the descriptive survey research design. The population comprised of voters during the 2019 presidential election in 15 of the 33 local government areas spread across three senatorial districts in Oyo State. The local governments were determined based on their high population according to statistics released by INEC. Convenient sampling technique was used to identify and collect data for the study. Taro Yamani formula was used to arrive at a sample size of 425 respondents. Data was collected using a validated questionnaire and key personality interviews. The data obtained were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The Agenda Setting Theory of the media and Uses and Gratifications Theory were used as the theoretical framework for the study. The study established that political parties used several media to communicate with voters in the course of the election taking into consideration their demography in order to communicate with as many people as possible, but with varying degrees of success. The research also concluded that traditional media, mainly radio, remains the most influential media. It also recommended that media messages must remain persuasive and positive for a successful mobilisation efforts towards higher voter participation in future elections.
Keywords: Social Mobilisation, Voter Participation, Influence, Communication Media, Presidential Election, Oyo State
Word Count: 248