26 emerging market political figures on Facebook and Twitter

Speaking to your constituents once meant getting up on a podium and shouting into a microphone. Twitter and Facebook are now the global platforms for instant communication and politicians have taken to it like a duck to water. Listed below are a group of politicians who use Twitter and Facebook to talk to their faithful followers.

South America

Chile President, Michelle Bachelet — Facebook fans: 295 097

Her Facebook site is growing in popularity, and she recently began (and abandoned) a Twitter account after a mere six tweets. Facebook remains as her platform for social communication.

President of Argentina, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner — Twitter followers: 607 025

Her Twitter account is exceptionally active with Kirchner updating on a daily basis. Her official Facebook site on the other hand is a digital ghost town.

Hugo Chávez Frías — Twitter Followers: 1 930 201
The president of Venezuela only tweets in Spanish. He tweets regularly and engages with his audience.

Antanas Mockus — Facebook Fans: 863 215
Antanas was the Mayor of Bogotá till 2003, he unsuccessfully ran for president in 2007 but remains an active politician.

Gina Parody — Twitter Followers: 31 579
She is a Colombian lawyer as well as a politician and has served in both the senate as well as the chamber of representatives in her home country of Colombia.

Sergio Fajardo — Facebook Fans: 134 896
Fajardo is currently running for the presidency of the office of the highly contended Green Party in Colombia.

Africa

Jacob Zuma — Twitter Followers: 47 111
The honourable president of South Africa is no stranger to controversy, but his Twitter account remains clean and informative as it displays positive messages for all South Africans.

Nelson Mandela — Facebook Fans: 65 414
The official account of Nelson Mandela may not be manned by the legendary freedom fighter, but it contains many of his quotes, pertinent news as well as memorable dates in his life.

Helen Zille — Facebook Fans: 205 361
The current leader of the opposition party, the Democratic Alliance has more followers than the President of South Africa. Zille is very verbal and responds to almost every message regarding her or her constituency in the Western Cape.

Jay Naidoo — Twitter Followers: 4 572
Naidoo is a firm believer in social media and was a cabinet minister during Nelson Mandela’s presidency. He is also one of the founders of COSATU, South Africa’s leading trade union. More followers on: Twitter

Paul Kagame — Twitter Followers: 23 752
The president of Rwanda is an avid fan of twitter and actively responds to his followers, even attacking a journalist on Twitter after he was called “despotic and deluded“.

Goodluck Jonathan — Facebook Fans: 634 537
The president of Nigeria has an immensely popular Facebook fan site as well as a Twitter account which sees very little traffic.

Maluisi Gigaba — Twitter Followers: 4 675
The South Africa minister of Public enterprises has plenty of opinions which he regularly voices on Twitter. He also updates the public on the ministry’s visits, TV and radio appearances.

David Coltart — Twitter Followers: 2 004
The Zimbabwean MDC senator and minister for education loves his sporting events and is constantly updating on cricket, golf and whatever else grabs his attention.

Uhuru Kenyatta — Facebook Fans: 99 802
Kenyatta is the deputy prime minister and minister of Finance in Kenya.

Martha Karua — Facebook Fans: 131 712
Karua is currently in the running for the presidency of Kenya and is working hard to make her dream come true.

Asia and the Middle East

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono — Facebook Fans: 397 000
Yudhoyono is the president of Indonesia, and he has a pretty active Facebook site. The man himself very rarely posts.

Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad — Facebook Fans: 1 404 607
This esteemed man was the longest serving Malaysian prime minister until from 1981 until 2003.

Yingluck Shinawatra — Facebook Fans: 330 542
Shinawatra is the current and 28th prime minister of Thailand.

Philippines President Gloria Arroyo — Twitter followers 3396
President Arroyo’s social profile seems bleak. She barely has 500 fans on Facebook but thankfully her Twitter account has more social success, despite the fact she has not tweeted in close to two years.

Manny Villar — Facebook Fans: 1 655 359
He is a Philippine Senator and the president of the Nacionalista Party. With over a million Facebook fans, Villar is rocking the social sphere.

Abhisit Vejjajiva — Facebook Fans: 770 762
Vejjajiva was the 27th prime minister of Thailand and now the current leader of the Democratic Party.

Dalai Lama — Twitter Followers: 2 325 865
The spiritual leader of the Buddhist people has stepped down from his political posts but remains very active on the social media scene.

Queen Rania — Twitter followers: 1 645 402
Beautiful, intelligent and mother to the people of Jordan – she is one of the most popular politicians in the Middle East. Both her Facebook and Twitter accounts are very engaging.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president of UAE – Facebook Fans: 471 523

The prime minster and vice president of the UAE has a twitter account which is almost as active as his Facebook site. Maktoum is proud of his horse-riding and the accomplishments of his people.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel — Facebook fans: 143 966
Netanyahu’s updates are mirrored in both his twitter and Facebook account, but according to the statistics less people seem to be reading his twitter feed.