Purpose

A Global Trend

Despite diverse politics and cultures, civic activists in countries in all parts of the world have begun to make debates among candidates for president, prime minister, legislatures and local government a centerpiece of their elections. (See Tip: What Is a Candidate Debate?)

To date more than 60 countries have developed a debate tradition. Behind this global trend is the conviction that debates benefit democracies in many ways, including helping voters make an informed choice at the ballot box; encouraging candidates to focus on public policy issues rather than personality, religion or ethnic loyalties; reducing the potential for violence by promoting civil discourse; and holding elected officials accountable to their campaign promises once in office. Debates can also help all candidates get their message out in places where one political force dominates the media environment.

Stronger Democracies

As noted above, debates can improve elections and democracies in a number of ways.

Focus Candidates on the Issues

The prospect of presenting and defending their views in a face-to-face forum with political opponents encourages candidates to develop and articulate their positions during a campaign. Political generalities, personal attacks or emotional appeals are insuffi cient to carry a candidate through in-depth, multi-hour discussions and the give-and-take that can occur during a debate. As a result, some candidates have found that debates have helped them to campaign and govern better once elected.

As a Ghanaian debate sponsor2 has noted, the forums have moved his country’s elections “from the politics of insults to the politics of issues.”3

Inform Voters

Debates are often the only time during a campaign when candidates are together at the same time in the same place. This provides voters with the rare opportunity to make side by side comparisons.  The events also allow candidates to make the case for why they are best suited for the elected office at stake and present their positions on public policy issues. A moderator, panelists or opponent can also probe the candidate’s statements and positions, highlight policy differences and hold debaters accountable for past actions.  In addition, in the course of a debate candidates reveal the leadership style and personal qualities they would bring to the office.  Public opinion surveys conducted after a series of debates held in 2011 by the Jamaica Debates Commission quantified the role that debates can play in informing voters: some 70 percent of the viewing and listening audience said the debates helped clarify candidates’ positions.4

Help Reduce Political Tensions

In deeply divided election environments or  countries emerging from conflict, debates provide an opportunity for political rivals to show that despite their differences they can treat each other with mutual respect even while they disagree on the issues.  This role in lowering tensions begins even before the debate.  The forums often require several months to organize and competing candidates or their representatives must sit down together and work with debate sponsors to find common ground on arrangements. This interaction can lessen tensions during a campaign and even build relationships that can contribute to post-election governance. Such dialogue would be unlikely to take place during a campaign period absent the holding of debates. 

On debate day, in contrast to campaign rallies, candidates appear on stage together and discuss issues in a constructive and dignified manner as prescribed by debate rules. This joint appearance often includes a public handshake or embrace, acts that send a positive message to supporters in all political camps. As a debate participant stated, “The greatest thing about this debate is to see Liberian presidential candidates sitting here and talking to each other and trying to convince voters rather than being in the bush and shooting at each other.7 Debates can also provide a chance for candidates to commit publicly to peaceful elections, including agreeing to accept election results or using non-violent legal channels to resolve election disputes rather than calling supporters to the streets.

The positive environment created by a debate stands in sharp contrast to campaign rallies where candidates are prone to use more aggressive and less substantive rhetoric to please diehard party supporters. In Indonesia, election authorities put forward proposals to ban political rallies and replace them with more structured debates among competing parties and their candidates.8 The election authorities argued that the campaign rallies often stoked conflict while debates offered voters a means of learning about the candidates’ positions.

Debates are increasingly seen both domestically and internationally as benchmarks of a healthy, maturing democracy.

Promote Accountability by Elected Officials

During a debate, a candidate’s statements, policy positions and campaign promises become part of the public record. Once a winning candidate takes office, citizens, the media and civic organizations can hold them to account by citing transcripts, videos or press coverage of debates.  In addition, debate sponsors in some countries have begun to hold post-election debates as a means for citizens and political opponents to ask elected officials what they have achieved in office — contrasting campaign promises and actions. (page 51)

Level the Political Playing Field

In countries where one political party holds sway over the political scene, candidates often face incumbents who dominate media coverage or use public resources to support their campaigns. As a result, opposing candidates find it difficult to compete and communicate their policy platforms to voters. In uneven political environments, debates provide an opportunity to reach voters directly on radio and television, providing an effective, nonpartisan way to help “level the playing field” among candidates.

Highlight the Health of a Democracy

Debates are increasingly seen both domestically and internationally as benchmarks of a healthy, maturing democracy. Citizens often view debates as an indication of an open, transparent election process where all candidates can compete equally, particularly in countries emerging from a period of nondemocratic rule. Voters are also able to see issues they are concerned about addressed by candidates during debates and hold them accountable for past actions. All these factors can contribute to the overall legitimacy of an election process. Similarly, since debates are often landmark events watched by neighboring nations and audiences overseas, the forums can highlight progress in consolidating democracy. For some countries, this positive international profile can, in turn, help encourage economic investment, trade and tourism. In addition, debates can have a spillover effect, often spurring calls for debates in nearby countries. After watching a neighbor’s debate, commentators and civic activists often publicly ask why they are not afforded similar opportunities to inform voters and hold leaders accountable as noted in the following editorial: 

“In Africa, presidential debates are also gaining huge popularity…In Ghana, the presidential debate has now become a culture, refusing to participate is not even an option…In Kenya, the first ever presidential debate was held in February 2013. There were eight candidates and they all battled it out in front of a huge audience…In Zimbabwe it is high time we embrace the democratic path that has been followed by our sister nations that have walked the same road that we do now."10

Despite the many benefits noted above, debate initiatives in some countries have failed when sponsors could not overcome various challenges, including allaying fears that organizers may have a political bias; convincing reluctant candidates to participate; negotiating with competing media outlets to broadcast debates; identifying skilled, impartial moderators and panelists; raising necessary funds; and producing live national television and radio broadcasts. The following chapters outline approaches from around the world to overcome these challenges.

• 1. "12 Parties Listed for Guber Election".
• 2. For the purposes of this guide, the term “sponsor” is used to refer to groups that organize debates.
• 3. Remarks by Dr. Ransford Van Gyampo of the Institute of Economic Affairs at the NDI and CPD-sponsored International Debates Best Practices Symposium, Washington, D.C., June 2013.
• 4. Jamaica Debates Commission Post-Debate Poll Report: To assess the impact of the three National Debates, December 2011; Boxill Survey Team, January 2012.
• 5. Tension City — Inside the Presidential Debates, from Kennedy-Nixon to Obama-McCain, by Jim Lehrer, 2011, page 7.
• 6. Remarks at the NDI and CPD-sponsored International Debates Best Practices Symposium, Washington, D.C., June 2013.
• 7. Joseph Korto of the Liberia Equal Right Party. allAfrica.com. September 19, 2005.
• 8. “Presidential poll rallies may be banned in Indonesia,” Intellasia/ The Straits Times, March 27, 2009.
• 9. "Kenya: Contenders Vow to Accept March Outcome"
• 10. http://allafrica.com/stories/201307240358.html?viewall=1