The effect of mayors who change political parties on voter preferences in local elections: Efeler Municipality

This study examines the social media communication of Mehmet Fatih Atay, the Mayor of Efeler, who left the Republican People's Party (CHP) and ran as a candidate for the İYİ Party in the 2024 Turkish local elections. The research employs a qualitative content analysis method to analyze Atay's Twitter (X) posts shared between March 1 and March 29, 2024. The data were coded based on 17 thematic categories and further classified according to seven persuasion strategies: "addressing the audience, " "building empathy, " "providing evidence from the past, " "promising the future, " "reciprocity, " "appeal to authority, " and "liking/love." The findings reveal that Atay predominantly employed the strategies of "addressing the audience" and "building empathy" in his posts. In addition, the frequent use of "providing evidence from the past" suggests a deliberate effort to reinforce his legitimacy through references to previous achievements. This communication style reflects an attempt to rebuild trust with the electorate during the transition between political parties, emphasizing personal leadership and local governance experience. The study demonstrates that political actors, especially during periods of party change, can reshape voter perception through strategic use of social media content. KEYWORDS: Social media, Content analysis, Local elections, Persuasion methods, Political communication, Party change, Twitter (X)