| Abstract: |
This study examined affective politics and voters' perception in the
2023 Delta State gubernatorial election. The study was anchored on
Emotional Contagion Theory, which explained how emotions
communicated by political actors can be transferred to audiences
and subsequently influence their attitudes and judgements. The
study adopted a survey research design. The population comprised
3,221,697 registered voters in Delta State, from which a sample size
of 400 respondents was determined using Yamane's formula. A
multi-stage sampling technique was used to select respondents from
Delta North, Delta Central and Delta South senatorial districts. Data
were collected using a structured questionnaire containing four
point Likert-scale items ranging from Strongly Agree to Strongly
Disagree. The instrument was validated by experts and tested for
reliability, yielding a Cronbach's Alpha coefficient of 0.79. Of the
400 copies administered, 388 were successfully retrieved and found
usable, representing a 97.0% valid response rate. Data were
analysed using frequencies, percentages, mean and standard
deviation. A mean score of 2.50 was adopted as the acceptance
threshold. The findings showed that voters were exposed to affective
political messages that appealed to emotions such as hope, trust,
fear, anger, pride and political loyalty. The findings further indicated
that these emotional appeals influenced voters' perceptions of the
candidates, particularly their perceived credibility, competence,
trustworthiness and suitability for leadership. The study concluded
that affective politics constituted an important dimension of voter
judgement during the 2023 Delta State gubernatorial election,
although its influence was reinforced by existing party loyalty and
political affiliations. The study recommended that political actors
should prioritise issue-based and responsible emotional
communication, electoral stakeholders should promote voter
education that encourages critical evaluation of campaign messages,
and political parties should discourage manipulative emotional
appeals that may deepen political division. |
