The effects of alliances between political parties on voters' political perceptions and behaviours: A field study in Atakum, İlkadım and Terme districts of Samsun

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of the regulation enacted in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in 2018, which allows the formation of alliances between political parties, on the voting behaviour of voters. In order to measure the effects of alliances on voters in different types of elections, 31 March 2019 local elections, 14 May 2023 parliamentary and presidential first round elections and 28 May 2023 presidential second round elections were included in the study. In the study, the data obtained from the voters who voted in the above-mentioned elections in Atakum, İlkadım and Terme districts of Samsun were analysed using descriptive and content analysis techniques. The research mainly focussed on the electorate of the Cumhur and Millet alliances, which constitute the two major alliance frameworks. Research findings show that alliances have different political and social effects on voters in different types of elections. The study shows that the ideological identities and political trust levels of the voters are the main determinants of the political and social effects of alliances on voters. Apart from these two main factors, other factors that determine the effects of alliances on voter behaviour are the educational level, socio-economic development level of the place of residence, age and gender. The findings of the research show that when the voters' voting preferences formed around the concepts of ideological identity and political trust are taken into consideration, the alliances to be established between parties with ideological identity will have a higher chance of success in the elections. Therefore, it is concluded that political parties should take into account not only political factors and results, but also social factors and results in the alliances they will establish, and only alliances established in this way can have a higher chance of success in the elections.