By Meshal al-Enzi, KUNA,
Kuwait : Candidates for the coming parliamentary election slated on May 17 are using eye-catching slogans to draw the attention of people.
Their varied slogans mainly revolved around economic reform, national development and educational revamp.
Among such slogans are “Renewal for Reform”, “Kuwait Has Youth”, “We Are Going Ahead with Reform and Our Goal Is Development” and others.
By doing so, parlaimentary hopefuls are trying to voice their political and social leanings in short phrases. In a nutshell, the closer candidates get to societal issues and problems, the closer they get to voters.
Speaking to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), Dr. Adel al-Awadhi, a professor of administrative communications at Kuwait University, termed the slogan as an election message used by candidates to show and express their visions and goals.
The election message explains the platforms and planks of candidates, he said.
On how slogans or election messages should be formulated, he said they should briefly and simply clarify the main goals and purposes of candidates and consider the public interest of individuals and society.
They should also be eye-catching in view of chosen words and import, al-Awadhi believed.
On the psychological impact of slogans on voters, Dr. Farih al-Enzi, a professor of psychology at Kuwait University, said slogans influence voters’ choice given the fact that suitable slogans are formulated once candidates find and tackle social issues.
But, existing slogans have become mostly identical and repeated, he said.
On how much slogans can influence voters, Dr. Abdullah al-Enzi, a professor of political sciences at Kuwait University, divided electorates into two camps.
The first camp can not be influenced by slogans as they have already decided whom they will favor, while the second camp can be actually influenced by attractive slogans, especially in the Second Constituency where there are several political trends, he said.
However, 2008 National Assembly election campaigns are notably marked by variation and innovation, including audiovisual media, communication technology and blogs.