Basic Criteria for the Success of the Electoral Candidates and their Influence on Voters’ Selection Decision

This study is designed to clarify the integral component and criteria of the success of the electoral candidate and its impact on the voters' selection decision (a case study of Jordanian voters). For the purpose of identifying the most important basic components that influence voters choice decision, the study's model was designed based on these criteria taking into consideration previous studies related to political and electoral marketing and extant political science research as well as the nature of the Jordanian environment. The model study was divided into five major dimensions which are (candidates’ personal attributes, political background, candidates’ credibility, communications and contact means used by the candidates and campaign management) and how they influence voters’ selection decision. In addition, a hypothesis was developed for each dimension as well as another hypothesis was proposed in order to measure the significance of the relationship between the different components of the study’s model. In order to collect the data required for examining the hypotheses and drawing conclusions, a questionnaire consisting of (24) questions covering the dimensions and the hypotheses of the study, was designed. The design and development of this questionnaire was based on an initial pre-tested survey distributed to a sample consisting of ( 60 )individuals who are eligible to participate in the Jordanian election. The initial survey was also pre-tested and evaluated by a panel of experts in marketing and politic specialists in order to assess the items within each construct. The questionnaire was then distributed to Jordanian citizens in Amman. Data collection resulted in (629) usable surveys for subsequent analysis. Certain statistical methods were adopted in data analysis and reaching results. The resulted of statistical analysis indicated acceptance of all hypotheses relating to the impact of the ingredients (Standards ) included in the study to understand and choose the candidate and voter, but differently as well as the results indicate there is a correlation significance between the components of the model.