Political parties use the electoral campaign period to promote their programmes and confront the views of other political actors. Campaigning allows citizens to get a better understanding of the different political options and decide who to vote for. During the campaign period, political parties use different strategies to reach voters and seek their support. They organize political rallies and parades and display promotional materials and media advertisements in order to increase their profile and visibility. Media appearances are particularly important as it is well established that media debates are important vehicles for winning popular support.

Nevertheless, unequal media access—especially as between women and men and between ruling and opposition political parties— provocative messages and appearances, and aggressive campaigning and actions can and does lead to outbreaks of election-related violence, including gender-based violence, and in many different contexts.