The influence of the mayors' performance on the general elections in the context of political marketing: Atakum Municipality example

Political parties are considered to be the most effective units in the local municipality. From this point of view it is said that political parties are influenced by municipalities and it is thought that the tendency of voters to vote for their services and citizens' satisfaction is positive towards the party that the mayor belongs to. Those who measure the services provided by the municipalities and make positive or negative feedback to them are benefiting from this service. These expectations vary according to the demographic characteristics of the citizens who evaluate according to the expectations. The main purpose of this study is to measure the satisfaction levels of the municipal services of residents living in the Atakum Municipality borders located in the center of Samsun and to investigate whether this level of satisfaction is the party preference in which the citizens who vote in the district are members of the district mayor. The main question of this study is "How does the performance of the mayors affect the voting rate of the party whose membership is in the general elections?" In this context, it is tested that the performance of the relevant mayor is positive and that the citizen prefers the party according to the performance. For the purpose of the study, a face-to-face interview technique was applied to citizens who settled in the Atakum District and who were able to vote, as a quantitative research method. The obtained data were evaluated using the statistical package program. Findings have shown that the municipality's preference for the municipality's ability to meet the physical needs of its citizens, the social and economic added value of citizen's services to the citizen, and the positive contribution of this effect to the party's vote. Key Words: Municipality, Political Marketing, Citizen Satisfaction, Mayor,Political Party