Political Communication and Electoral Success in Sugihrejo Village, Pati Regency, Indonesia

Abstract

Problem Statement: The political communication ability of a prospective leader is one of the main factors that contribute to the victory in the contest of democratic elections. The phenomenon of a village head winning in Sugihrejo Village, Gabus Sub-district, Pati Regency in his second term of leadership was supported by effective political communication skills during the democratic election campaign. The formulation of the research problem includes questions about the influence and how much influence political communication has on the victory of Tri Setyanto's figure in the village head election in the region. Purpose: This research aims to investigate the influence of political communication conducted by Sugihrejo Village Head Figure Tri Setyanto on his victory in the Sugihrejo Village head election in Gabus Sub-district, Pati Regency in his second leadership period. Method: The research method used is a correlational method with a quantitative approach, which utilises statistical analysis to manage the data obtained. The research sample was determined based on the Permanent Voters List (DPT) at the Village Head Election in Sugihrejo Village in 2019, assuming that the DPT reflects the voter base directly involved in the democratic process. Results: The results show that there is a significant influence between political communication and the victory of Tri Setyanto in the village head election in Sugihrejo Village, Gabus Sub-district, Pati Regency. This is reinforced by the results of the simple linear regression test which shows a calculated t value that is much greater than the t table value, as well as the results of the Rank Spearman correlation hypothesis test which shows a positive and very strong relationship between the two variables. The coefficient of determination test results show that the independent variable (Political Communication) has an influence of 73.2% on the dependent variable (Tri Setyanto's victory in the democratic election), while other variables not included in this research model provide 26.8% influence on Tri Setyanto's victory in the democratic election. From the results of the standard beta coefficient test, it is found that the care indicator has the highest influence on the Victory variable. Conclusion: The conclusion of this study is that there is a significant influence between variable X (Political Communication) and Variable Y (Victory in democratic elections). The implication of this study confirms the importance of effective political communication from the Village Head in supporting the achievement of victory in a democratic election contest.