Abstract
Political campaigns in Ghana are predominantly symbols oriented, characterised by socio-cultural objects and deployed predominantly through visual communication. Symbols are embedded with proverbial and attitudinal meanings that position the symbol bearer within a reification of cultural oration. The cultural signification approach to “campaign messaging” within a visual context may provide effective cognitive and affective vehicles to facilitate voters’ understanding of the political message, making it persuasive and less difficult for voters to comprehend. Using the political campaign materials of the December 2020 polls in Ghana, a total of 35 posters were coded, generating 172 codes. The findings show that political parties in Ghana use formalised symbols to communicate competence, social appeal, dominance, power and bravery. The use of visual communication presents a potent opportunity to “shortcut” long form messaging to reach target audience effectively.
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Mensah, K., Tayman, A.J., Musah, Z.T. (2023). Mapping the Formats and Significance of Signs and Meaning in Political Campaigns in Ghanaian Elections. In: Veneti, A., Rovisco, M. (eds) Visual Politics in the Global South. Political Campaigning and Communication. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-22782-0_8
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