This Grounded Theory study focused on understanding how South Africa’s two
numerically-dominant political parties, the African National Congress (ANC) and
Democratic Alliance (DA), used micro-blogging site, Twitter, as part of their
electioneering arsenal in the 2016 municipal elections to promote party-political
digital issue ownership within an urban context. Using each party’s 2016 election
manifesto and corpus of tweets, this three-phased study found that while both the
ANC and DA used Twitter as a digital political communication platform to
communicate their election campaigns, the DA notably leveraged the social
networking site for intense ‘focused’ messaging of its negative campaign against the
ANC while simultaneously promoting positive electoral messages around its own
‘core’ issues and metro mayoral candidates. ‘Battleground’ metros were identified by
the DA in Ekurhuleni, Johannesburg, Tshwane and Nelson Mandela Bay, leading to
an emphasised urban campaign here to either activate the party’s own support base
and/ or to suppress the ANC’s turnout in these highly-contested areas. Additionally, it
was found that both the ANC and DA used Twitter for explicit and implicit partypolitical
issue ownership claiming in the 2016 municipal elections. Lastly, this study
also culminated in the proposal of three but interconnected different elements of a
conceptual framework for digital political communication that political parties could
use to promote digital party-political issue ownership within a pronounced urban
electioneering setting. These elements – ‘coordinating and managing how an
election is tweeted’, 'focus' messaging the election’ and ‘audience-segmenting as a
message-tailoring strategy’ – when used in unison can help political parties
communicate better and ultimately more effectively in a highly mediatised
technological media landscape
Hierdie Gegronde Teorie Studie fokus op die verduideliking hoe Suid-Afrika se twee
numeriese dominante politieke partye, die African National Congress (ANC) en
Demokratiese Alliansie (DA), van die mikro-blog platform, Twitter, gebruik gemaak
het tydens hulle verkiessingsstrategie in die 2016 munisipale verkiessings om die
party politieke digitale kwessie rondom eienaarskap binne ‘n stedelike verband te
bevorder. Deur elke party se 2016 verkiessings manifesto en arsenaal van twiets te
gebruik, het hierdie drie-fase studie bevind dat beide die ANC en DA, Twitter gebruik
het as ‘n digitale politieke kommunikasie platform. Die DA het egter die sosiale
media netwerk kenmerkend gebruik vir ‘n intense gefokusde negatiewe veldtog teen
die ANC terwyl hulle terselfdertyd ‘n positiewe verkiessings boodskap rondom die
party se eie kernkwessies en metro burgermeesters kandidate gesentreer het.
‘Oorlogsgebied’ metros is deur die DA in Ekurhuleni, Johannesburg, Tshwane en
Nelson Mandela Bay geidentifiseer wat ‘n defnitiewe stedelike veldtog tot gevolg
gehad het om die party se eie ondersteuningsbasis te bevorder en/of die ANC se
ondersteuning in hierdie hoogs betwiste areas te onderdruk. Daar was ook bevind
dat beide die ANC en DA van Twitter gebruik gemaak het vir eksplisiete en implisiete
party politieke kwessies rondom eiernaarskap tydens die 2016 munisipale
verkiessings. Hierdie studie kan saamgevat word in drie onderskeie maar verwante
elemente om ‘n raamwerk te vorm van die digitale politieke kommunikasie wat
politieke partye kan gebruik om digitale party politieke kwessies binne ‘n stedelike
verkiessings omgewing te bevorder. Wanneer hierdie elemente – ‘koordinering en
bestuur van hoe twiets tydens ‘n verkiesing gebruik word’, ‘’die focus van die
boodksap tydens die verkiessing’ and ‘die gehoorsegmentasie can ‘n boodskap
strategie’ – in ‘n eenheid gebruik word kan dit politieke partye help om beter en meer
effektief te kommunikeer binne ‘n baie kompiterende en tegnologiese
medialandskap.
Inkcazo-bungcali yesisifundo ibigxile ekuqondeni ukuba uMzantsi Africa lo
unamaqela amakhulu amabini ezopolitiko, ukutsho, iAfrican National Congress
(ANC) kunye ne Democratic Alliance (DA), la maqela asebenzise iwebhusayithi
encinane uTwitter, njengenxalenye yezixhobo zonxibelelwano kunyulo loo masipala
ngo-2016. Bekwenza oku ngelikhuthaza amaqela ezopolitiko nebango lawo kwimiba
yezinto abathi bazithethe kwisithuba sedijithali,kumxholo wendawo zase dolophini.
Esi sifundo sisebenzisa imanifesto kunye nothotho lwe tweets zeqela ngalinye,
nesenziwe ngokwezigaba ezithathu, sifumanise ukuba nangona iANC kunye ne DA
zisebenzise uTwitter njenge qonga lonxibelelwano lwezopolitiko zedijithali
(ngokolwimi lwasemzini) ukunxibelelana namaphulo onyulo, iDA izibonakalise
amandla kwindawo yokuncokola kwiqonga uTwitter,ngokuthi imiyalezo yayo igxile
kwaye itsole. Miyalezo leyo ithe yagxila ngokungafanelekanga kumkhankaso
weANC. Ngaxeshanye, imiyalezo yayo yona iDA ibeyeyakhayo, kwaye incedisana
nephulo layo kwimiba ephambili kunye nabagqatswa bosodolophu bo masipala
abambaxa. Oomasipala abambaxa abathi babenongquzulwano bachongwe yiDA
Ekurhuleni, eRhawutini, eTshwane nase Bhayi. Lonto ibangele ukuba bagxininise
ekukhokeleni iphulo ledolophu ukuze bavuselele inkxaso ye DA apho okanye
bacinezele ukuvela kwe-ANC kwezi ndawo kuphikiswana kakhulu ngazo. Ukongeza,
kufumaniseke ukuba iANC kunye neDA zisebenzise uTwitter ngokwendlela
ecacileyo nengathanga ngqo kwimeko yobunini bemicimbi yepolitiki ukuze bafumane
ibango kunyulo loomasipala lwango 2016. Okokugqibela, esisifundo sigqibele
kwisindululo sezinto ezintathu azahlukeneyo kodwa ezidityaniswe yinkqubosikhokelo
eqingqiweyo kunxibelelwano lwezopolitiko zedijithali. Ezi zinto zizinto
ezisenakho ukusetyenziswa ngamaqela ezopolitiko ukukhuthaza ubunini bemicimbi
yezopolitiko ngaphakathi kulungiselelo lonyulo lwedolophu olubhengeziweyo. Ezi
zinto- 'ukulungelelanisa nokulawula indlela unyulo luthunyelwe ngayo kusetyeziswa
uTwitter', 'kugxilwe' kwimiyalezo yonyulo kunye nokuhlukaniswa kwabaphulaphuli
okanye ababukeli njengecebo lokulungisa umyalezo '- xa zisetyenziswa ngazwinye
zinokuwanceda amaqela ezopolitiko anxibelelane ngcono kwaye ekugqibeleni
ngokuyimpumelelo kakhulu kuxhamlo olunamandla kakhulu kubume beendaba
kumhlaba wetekhnoloji (ngokolwimi lwesiNgesi).
