The Effects of TV Debates as an Electoral Campaign Technique on Shaping Iranian Voter's Minds: A Case Study of Iranian Students

The present study aims to find "the most effective method of electoral campaigns in shaping voter's mind" and "the elections candidate's most significant qualification" in managing public vote. The reason behind this is the significance of elections as an event affecting the fate of nations as well as the role of television and candidate's skills in shaping voter's attitudes. This is a survey carried out through questionnaires distributed among university students across the country, of which some 420 individuals were selected as samples of the research. The findings indicate that the most effective method of electoral campaign in shaping voter's mind is TV debates, and the elections candidate's most significant qualification is their rhetorical skills and presentation capabilities. Furthermore, all the sentences that respondents remember from 2014 Iranian Presidential Elections belong to TV debates. Thus, one could conclude that TV debates have a unique role in the structure of electoral campaigns.