COMMENTARY: E- campaigning – a promising prospect for Dominica politics

netE-campaigning is currently not a major factor in elections in Dominica. Political parties continue to rely mainly on the traditional methods of reaching out to potential voters. However, with increased Net penetration, improved Web technologies, and a growing population of Net-savvy voters, political actors may want to look at some of their options.

Why an E-campaign?

The new trend in campaigning and politics is to create one movement online and another movement off-line and to effectively manage them both.

A traditional campaign features oration and speech making at rallies, the handshake and baby kissing, fund-raising dinners, billboards, TV ads and campaign offices in the constituencies. These activities are carefully managed and rely heavily on the mass media for coverage. Additionally, governments and private interests tend to dominate mass media creating a need for alternative sources of information. Plus, opposition parties are always looking for alternative channels for political discourse to out-maneuver the seating party. The Internet provides a viable alternative in social media (like Face Book, You Tube) and webcasting (like Internet radio and TV) and many other communication tools.

Notwithstanding, the net is a great organizing tool for any campaign. In 2012, President Obama used the Net to solicit large volumes of donations, he used the Net to mobilize foot soldiers to canvass door to door and by telephone, delivering leaflets, organizing events and campaigning on the street level.

Dominica is going digital

In 2012, ECTEL reported the number of fixed broadband subscriptions reached 9,500 (broadband is the infrastructure necessary for making efficient Internet connections). The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) reported that 55% of individuals in Dominica used the Internet in 2012 compared to 8% in 2000. We are not sure how heavily Dominican voters (home or away) rely on the Internet for local political information but a pattern seems to be emerging. Average monthly searches on political websites in Dominica between March 2013 and February 2014 are near 1,300.

Most websites function more like multi-media posters, and few appear interactive seeking donations and suggestions from net users. In social media, Twitter, for example, used to advertise candidates’ or political leaders’ daily activities, is sparely used locally.

Clearly, we have not got to the stage where voters are targeted by political parties and their data stored and analyzed to mobilize key communities to donate time and money on behalf of their political leader or party philosophy. Neither are we in the habit of researching political information online, nor contacting candidates directly, nor registering direct responses to their tweets. We are not yet at that level of engagement or reengagement with politicians online.

E-expressive political activities are still experimental around the country. Some material or information may go viral on the Net and eventually cross-over to the mainstream media. At the same time most mainstream media have permanent Internet presence these days. So this means, for the moment, the Internet serves as an echo chamber to the mainstream media with a relatively small but growing audience with the usual enthusiasts.

Still, the Internet remains a potential game changer in politics and political participation, because when it comes to winning elections, the best results seem to occur in political campaigns using all the means available, whether they are off–line or online.

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11 Comments

  1. warma
    April 15, 2014

    LOL – don’t worry Raymond, the landscape is about to change on that – keep your ears pinned to the radio – should be revealed by the weekend. Remember you heard it here first.

    OFCDominica

    • Raymond
      April 15, 2014

      Fine. I’m looking at the data. Don’t give me rabbit eggs for Easter…

      • warma
        April 15, 2014

        LOL – no magic rabbit eggs – when you discover what I meant by that statement, be sure to return here to offer your comments

        OFCDominica

  2. Anonymous
    April 14, 2014

    To be honest the UWP has been E campaigning for years now, there was the vibrant newsdominica, ca ka fet among others and now facebook and DNO which they have used and are very popular on these sites. Sadly E campaign has not been a successful form of campaign in dominica and they past election results can tell you that. The E contributors have been mostly overseas Dominicans, the real people u need to vote are on the ground and don’t care much for internet and that’s why DLP Is still here they are good on the one on one on the ground campaign which is what still works in Dominica. We cannot just copy everthing done overseas without looking at our own people and culture first. Things will change but for now it is what it is.

  3. Doc. Love
    April 14, 2014

    Mr. Henderson, I am very disappointed with your commentary. It appears to me, you have never read face book in the names of the UWP and Mr. Lennox Linton. If you visit Mr. Linton or the UWP’s face book you will see the hundreds of political material including pictures concerning the Party. By the way, during the 2009 General Elections, the UWP had its manifesto on the internet. For your information, the DLP including the present President of Dominica not only criticized the UWP but went as far as to ridicule the UWP for having that document on the internet.

    • Raymond
      April 14, 2014

      The partisan part of the discussion can be promoted by anyone. On Face Book, as you indicate, one side promotes its candidates and another side promotes issues. Those are strategies and you are free to talk about them. But what do you think the impact will be?

    • %
      April 14, 2014

      The UWP is always miles ahead of the clowns in this corrupt Labour Party. E-Campaigning is being used in Dominica for years now, as limited as it is. I wont mention the manifesto again since you have done so very well.

      • Raymond
        April 15, 2014

        we [are not at] the stage where voters are targeted by political parties and their data stored and analyzed to mobilize key communities to donate time and money…for the moment, the Internet serves as an echo chamber to the mainstream media with a relatively small but growing audience with the usual enthusiasts.

  4. Anonymous
    April 14, 2014

    A manifesto published on the internet was a clever form of E-campaigning!!!!

    • Anonymous
      April 14, 2014

      if it had been done properly

  5. Lyrics for So
    April 14, 2014

    I see all politicians I could not find in their offices on FaceBook now. It is not easier to dock your people there…so be careful. Also is time to change the politics. One set about personalities and another set about issues. :(

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