Intra-Party Election Campaigns in Ghana: An Analysis of Facebook Use

Abstract

The advancement of information and communication technologies has ushered in a digital era of democracies, revolutionising politics, communication and electoral processes. This chapter examines how Ghana’s two main political parties—the New Patriotic Party and the National Democratic Congress—use social media. It explores “Facebooking” in political communication and engagements in Ghana—how political parties appropriated Facebook especially in their 2018 intra-party elections. Conclusions are drawn from findings and a discussion of data from Facebook and interviews. The political parties used Facebook in communication and intra-party elections. However, these parties minimally appropriated Facebook, as they employed it for disseminating public information rather than for interactive and mutually beneficial engagements via two-way symmetrical communication for support. Hence, the need for enlightened communication and political public relations for improved use of social media.