NEW MEDIA AND POLITICS: AN ASSESSMENT OF 2016 SOUTH AFRICAN LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS

Abstract

In recent times, the role of media in politics has increased significantly.With the inception of the new form of media communication, the interaction between the importance of media and politicization remain complementary.During the 2016 South African Local Government Elections, the new media featured as one of the prominent medium of political interaction between various political stakeholders across the country.This paper argues that the role of new media facilitated political interaction across the political terrain of the country during the election.It also argues that political actors increased their use of new media not only to advance their political ideas but also to receive feedbacks from the electorates.Therefore, this paper identifies that the new media created an interactive forum linking the political parties, Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) and the electorates.In other words, this medium increased existing interaction within the South African political environment particularly during the just concluded 2016 Local Government Elections.

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