Politics and digital media: An exploratory study of the 2014 subnational elections in Ecuador

The transformations of political party systems challenge democratic representation given that parties maintain a predominant role connecting citizen’s preferences to policy making through the election of authorities. Representation is also challenged by the spread of digital social networks, which modify the way in which both political actors and the public communicate about politics. However, it is unclear in how far platforms like Twitter overcome traditional ways of political communication. The aim of this chapter is to analyze the political uses of digital media in a multilevel party system during an electoral period. The main question it deals with refers to the extent politician’s tweets do connect territorial agendas. The study focuses on the 2014 subnational elections in Ecuador, an incongruent multilevel party system dominated by non-traditional parties, despite traditional parties still play a relevant role. With an exploratory aim the study focuses on a selection of politicians from the provinces of Guayas and Pichincha and the municipalities of Guayaquil and Quito.