Özdemir Tokel evaluated TRNC politics at CIU

At an event organized by the Cyprus International University (CIU) Faculty of Communications, Department of Public Relations and Advertising, the subject of “North Cyprus Political Communication Campaigns” was evaluated prior to the TRNC General Elections to be held on the 23rd January 2022.

At the event that was organized online, Political Communication Expert Özdemir Tokel attended as a speaker, where he explained the processes of the election campaigns in North Cyprus, as well as giving examples from campaigns across the world.

Underlining the fact that politics exists in every area of our lives, Tokel pointed out that political communication efforts are of great importance, not only during election processes, but also in long-term political processes.

Explaining that political communication forms a bridge between political parties or individuals and the society, Özdemir Tokel noted that it plays an important role in transferring this groups ideas to the society.

Advising that another element that is as important as creating an idea or message in relation to political parties, is conveying the idea to the public, Tokel went on to say, "Even if you have the best idea or the best slogan, if you are unable to convey this to the public, that idea is useless".

Informing that running election campaigns in small geographies has different advantages and disadvantages, Tokel continued, “For example, when it comes to campaigns that are based on perceptions, there are serious disadvantages in small geographical regions such as the TRNC. The voters voting in the TRNC know everything about the party candidate, the background, their childhood, and their life. For this reason, it is very difficult to change the current image of candidates”.

Tokel advised that on the other hand, in small geographies it is extremely easy to reach the voters and that this is an advantage, and noted that in a number of countries it is not possible for the voters to reach the candidates, however a gain of living in a small country is that in North Cyprus the voter can reach the candidate easily, in fact, it is an important factor that they can communicate with the candidate over the phone.

Additionally evaluating the current election campaigns, Özdemir Tokel stated that the fact that the election is dominant with a short campaign duration has put serious pressure upon the parties, and at the same time the pandemic process has prevented effective mass meetings from being held, which has in turn made the campaign processes rather dull when compared to previous elections.