Özet:
The aim of this study is to analyse, by taking into consideration the
social values and needs, the factors affecting the voters' voting behaviours
in the local elections. In the process of evaluating the voters' choices
related to the candidate's positive and negative aspects, the impacts of
the media messages, the election campaign, the candidate's ethnic origin,
and the perceptions developed about the candidate's political party have
been analysed; the influences of age, gender, education level, political
identity, and socio-demographic effects have also been questioned. Using
the sample from Kocaeli comprising 8594 individuals (2009 ANAR survey
data collection), the singular characteristics of the candidate and the
sentiments developed about the candidate's political party have been
detected to have more dominant effects in the voters' choices. Meanwhile,
the level of education has been discovered to be strengthening the voters'
rational choices, leading them to make more insightful examinations of
the candidate. Turkish voters are generally of conservative character, and
in their political party preferences, a vast majority of voters’ side with the
rightist/conservative parties. The party which consolidates
conservative/islamist/nationalist center-right naturally gets ahead and
takes the lead. Atatürkism keeps its position notably, yet liberalism,
Kemalism, and ethnic nationalism find less support among the voters.
The data shows that the candidate's reliability/honesty (85 %), his/her
having close contact with the public (81 %), his/her experience (80 %),
his/her projects and promises (80 %), his/her party (80 %), the campaign
(53 %), media (40 %), origin (24 %), and the desire to punish the disliked
(15%) are effective on the voters' preferences.