ASSESSMENT OF VOTERS RESPONSE TO GLOBAL SYSTEM MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATION POLITICAL ADVERTISING PLATFORMS USED IN 2015 GUBERNATORIAL ELECTIONEERING CAMPAIGNS IN DELTA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Global system mobile telecommunication political advertising is the use of mobile phone platforms to appeal to voters to elect one person rather than another or urge them to vote a specific way on a resolution or referendum. Several studies have provided useful insights into how GSM and political advertising affect voters separately but not much has been said about how both have interacted in a particular election in Nigeria in terms of level of exposure of voters to political advertisements on GSM platforms, attitude of the voters towards the GSM political advertisements, and how GSM political advertising impact on the voting decisions. The study adopted survey on a population of voters during the 2015 general elections in Delta State, using a sample of 300. Questionnaire return rate was 92%, and findings show that many voters received political advertising messages via GSM. Voters' attitude towards this was largely positive and the level at which these GSM political advertisements influenced voters was significant. The study recommends that political parties and candidates should make GSM political advertisement a continuous exercise and not just limited to election periods only.