The Mediating Impact of Candidate Image on the Relationship between Religiosity and Voting Intention

Abstract

This study aims to identify the influence of reliability on voting intentions. The research also investigates the role of the candidate image variable as a meditation between religiosity and voting intention. Four hypotheses were developed and tested using a quantitative approach. The theory used in this study is the theory of reasoned action. Primary research data was collected using the questionnaire through purposive sampling. The variable is measured using a Likert scale of five with a range of “very disagree (1) to "very agree." The data processing method applies the structural equation model using Smart-Partial Least Square (PLS) 3.0 software. The final sample consists of 155 respondents. Measurement model evaluation and structural model assessment are used to obtain research results. After passing the assessment of the measurement model, the structural model shows that the model has good relevance and predictive strength. The hypothesis testing indicates that candidate image mediates the relationship between religiosity and voting intention, and candidate images mediate the relation between religiosity and voting intention with a mediating complementary mediation. Furthermore, the results also show that four direct influences are also significant: (i) religiosity on candidate image (ii) candidate image on voting intention; (iii) candidate image mediates relations between the influence of religiosity and voter intention.