New Geopolitics Research

New Geopolitics Research

The Impact of Spatial Competition on the Spatial Distribution of Votes (Case Study: Shahriar, Malard and Shahr-e-Quds Constituencies)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Morad Kavianirad 1
Ahmadreza Saeedi Tabar 2
Ataullah Abdi Fatehabad 1
1 Department of Political Geography, Faculty of Geographical Sciences, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran.
2 Master of Arts in Political Geography, Department of Political Geography, Faculty of Geographical Sciences, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran.
10.22034/nrpg.2026.2057990.1051
Abstract
Place, as the focus of the science of geography, is a reflection of culture in the environment. The presence of the individuals in the place results in the sense of belonging and their affiliations to different places. Political elections, as a political phenomenon, play a fundamental role in reflecting voters' spatial identities. Iran, influenced by its geographical location and history, has always had a wide variety of spatial identities. In the meantime, the electoral districs of Shahriar, Mallard, and Shahr-e-Quds, as places which mostly include immigrants, have been influential as arenas for revealing this diversity and, as a result, creating diverse spatial patterns in voting behavior in the Islamic Consultative Assembly elections. This articlr has utilized a descriptive-analytical design and has collected the data required for the research through two methods: library research method (studying books and articles) and field study (using questionnaires). Based on the result of the t-test and ANOVA, there is a significant difference between Shahriyar, Malard, and Shahr Quds with regard to the voting pattern.  The results of the study showed that spatial belonging in the form of spatial competition, especially in areas with high cultural and social diversity, can create new challenges in political planning and election management. Also, paying attention to spatial and identity characteristics in electoral planning is of particular importance. The results of this study refer to spatial identities in the form of spatial conflicts affected by social and economic relations leading to vote heterogeneity.
Keywords
Election geography
spatial competition
spatial distribution of votes
Shahriar
Malard and Shahr-e-Quds constituencies
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