Mustafa Al-Saray / Director of Research and Studies at Al-Bayan Center for Studies and Planning; Researcher and Academic in Political Science / University of Baghdad
The concept of electoral identity is not yet firmly established, as it has not gained widespread use in either the academic or political spheres. It has often been replaced by a set of distinct concepts that collectively convey its meaning, such as: electoral behavior, voting behavior, electoral discourse, and political identity. Each of these concepts focuses on a specific aspect, and the integrated interaction among them constitutes what can be termed “electoral identity.”
While electoral behavior refers to the actions and reactions that occur during the electoral stage and lead to a specific orientation, voting behavior is closely related in meaning. Meanwhile, electoral discourse is represented by the language and slogans used to motivate voters and attract them to adopt particular electoral orientations, ultimately resulting in the election of a specific political group. Political identity, on the other hand, represents the form of political affiliation or loyalty that a voter grants to a particular political group.
Since elections are an expression of citizens’ will in choosing a political group (party) or its candidates through the voting process, which generates voting behavior within the broader framework of the electoral process producing electoral behavior, electoral identity forms the comprehensive and overarching framework for all these components and interactions. It reflects the pattern, form, interaction, or choice exhibited by voters during elections.
In this context, a critical question arises regarding electoral identity: Why does a voter prefer one candidate over another? Most studies assume that voters’ choices reflect a rational judgment based on a comparison between two factors: what the voter desires and what the candidate promises, thereby maximizing the likelihood of achieving desired political outcomes. Accordingly, a body of political and social science research posits that the rational choice theory of voting assumes voters evaluate the political attributes of parties or candidates, rank these attributes according to their importance, and then select the candidate whose attributes align most closely with their personal preferences.
