WHAT VOTERS WANT TO KNOW ABOUT WHO WILL RUN THE CAPITAL AND INFLUENCE THEIR DECISIONS: LESSONS FROM BANGKOK, THAILAND

Abstract

What voters want to know about candidates and use to decide to vote remains an important question in current political communication. This research aims to find answers to such question, using the 2022 Bangkok gubernatorial election, the capital of Thailand, as a case study and collecting data from 400 voters. The research results found that voters prioritized political factors, including various policies, political ideology, political stance on the current administration, and political experience. Background information that received similar attention included work experience, honesty, and life success. As for money or compensation to be given, or family background, marital life, appearance, gender, and religion, voters rarely paid attention to the information. The first three factors they used to decide to vote for were work policies, the candidates’ personal characteristics, and political ideology. Personal relationships and money or compensation received were the last two factors that received very little weight. In addition, gender, age, religion, income, household wealth, and political ideology were also important demographic characteristics that showed some trends in the use of these factors in deciding to vote.