The effect of party symbols on electorates in Ghana a case study on two political parties at Akyem-Abuakwa South Constituency

Abstract

All over the world, symbols play a pivotal role in our daily lives which breaks boundaries where language cannot penetrate thus they exist in all walks of life. It is the basis of social, religious, political, economic ideas, values, and principles which have guided our general outlook to life throughout the ages, in our everyday life. According to Lippman (1965), political imaging as “image is the world according to our perception or the pictures in our head. It is therefore imperative that the meanings of various political party symbols are critically interrogated to understand the extent of its influence on the Ghanaian electorate. The general objective is to assess electorate understanding of political party symbols and to investigate the influence of the symbols on the decision-making of electorate in Ghana. The study employed qualitative research approach. Party executives, party activists and party sympathizers/supporters of the two leading political parties (NPP and NDC) in Akyem-Abuakwa South Constituency in the Eastern Region constituted the population of the study. Accordingly, symbols used by political parties are unique and helps to improve identification of political parties in Ghana. It enhances political party activities in Ghana before, during and after general elections. It is recommended that Political party’s symbol should be well-defined and understood by the respective party members and electorate in general and further studies are conducted to examine the symbols and its effects on electorate in Ghana.