Abstract:

The basis of political communication is the aim of influencing the uncertain voter crowd from the point of view of political parties and political leaders and being the first option to think about when citizens go to the box. Political communication philosophy has the idea of being visible in the media, strengthening the views of the potential voter, convincing the unstable voter. The symbols, the music, the colors used in the election campaign are elements that influence the building of an institutional image for both political parties and political candidates. This research aims to identify how the leader is presented in the public presence in the political communication axis of the AK Party’s electoral campaigns. The question of the study is, "What are the basic dynamics of the AK Party's electoral strategies and campaigns?" The study examines the 2002, 2007, 2011 general elections, 2004, 2009 and 2014 local elections through Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the political communication axis. Political campaigns have been dealt with in the context of election strategy, election speech, promises, slogans, meetings, election songs, television programs in which Erdogan participated, political advertisements in which he participated, the use of new media and social media. In the research, an illustrative analysis is shown using the quality research method. The study was conducted through the content analysis technique. How the actor is trying to be presented as a political leader, the visual text is needed, but it is studied through written texts. As a result, in the six electoral campaigns examined in terms of political communication codes, Erdogan is the essence of the campaigns. In the context of political communication, the AK Party has presented the projects it has done and will do. The use of new media and social media has been actively carried out since the 2011 local elections. The most comprehensive and organized election campaign was the campaign prepared for the 2014 local elections.