Turkey’s main opposition party shakes hands with US pollster

ANKARA

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has struck a deal with Benenson Strategy Group, the U.S.-based pollster that cooperated with U.S. President Barack Obama before the 2008 and 2012 elections, for support in on-the-field surveys, and strategies for the June 7 polls, a CHP deputy leader has told Hürriyet.

“The Americans will not determine the CHP’s election strategies,” said Mehmet Bekaroğlu, who chairs the promotion and public relations seat of the party.

“However, they will mark the citizen’s expectations from the CHP with the help of the surveys they conduct or by the help of other companies in Turkey. They will work on the CHP’s target audience, what they expect from the party and how these masses can be directed to the party. They will help the CHP’s authorized bodies in building strategy. 

Bekaroğlu highlighted that the party’s ideology and the policies are pictured at the related authorized CHP bodies.

“This company is very good at analyzing information from the field. We will make use of it,” he said.
Advertising companies will build a discourse within the framework of the strategy outlined by the party, with the contributions of Benenson, he said.

The company already has an advertisement group and is close to signing a deal with Ali Tarhan, one of the most prominent local figures in the business.

Joel Benenson, the founder and the CEO of the company, is a senior communications and polling advisor to the White House.

The company has taken part in election strategy building in other countries, such as Thailand and Malaysia.