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Should India have US-style presidential debates? Here’s the argument
Watching a candidate under pressure helps provide a glimpse of his or her actual temperament. With public events increasingly stage managed and orchestrated, a sense of whether a person has genuine leadership qualities is harder to tell
The second US presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, which took place today, was a closely watched affair, with every one from media organisations, independent pollsters and social media, avidly following it. The American debate sparks off another one in India every election season -- should the world’s largest democracy embrace a televised one-on-one, extempore style debate system?
Pramit Pal Chaudhuri on why India should have US -style presidential debate:
Divergent Distinction: Hearing candidates square off directly against each other on specific issues allows a voter to understand the nature of the political choice that faces him or her. This is not always evident to many voters as they rarely see a face off in Indian elections.
Electronic feedback: With a population that is getting more networked, such debates should supplement the traditional rally and rent-a-crowd combination of the past. Millions can get to watch candidates and as many can respond via social media. And candidates can know how well they are doing instantly.
Read: Trump vs Clinton: Top quotes from the second US presidential debate
Temper tantrums: Watching a candidate under pressure helps provide a glimpse of his or her actual temperament. With public events increasingly stage managed and orchestrated, a sense of whether a person has genuine leadership qualities is harder to tell.
Read: As it happened: Clinton, Trump clash in 2nd US presidential debate
Jousting job: This is a chance to hear a candidate speak in an ex tempore manner, being forced to think speak and possibly stumble on their feet. This has exactly the same advantages that come from interviewing a job applicant.
Fashionista focus: Lifestyle and fashion writers get a chance to see candidates in full bloom and under spotlights. The style world gets to say something about politics for once.
Rezaul H Laskar on why India shouldn’t have presidential debates
No clarity on candidates:The US has a two-party political system that makes it easier to identify two candidates who can face off in a presidential debate. India has a multi-party system wherein the prime ministerial candidates of some parties aren’t even known before the elections.
No organisational platform: The US debates are a permanent part of every general election and the country has a specialised non-partisan organisation – the Commission on Presidential Debates – which was established in 1987 to ensure that the debates meet certain standards. India has no such organisation that could provide oversight for debates and leaving such debates to TV channels alone would not guarantee they would be free and fair.
No primaries: The Democrat and Republican candidates in the US are chosen through a careful system known as the primaries that features debates between several politicians who are in the running for the post of president and voting by the members of the two parties. India has no such system.
Parliamentary system of governance: India has a parliamentary system which is all about parties whereas the US has a presidential form of government wherein the president is both head of state and government. If such debates are to be organised in India, they will have to feature leaders of different parties facing off over several rounds.
Quality of debate: Given the quality of debates in Parliament, it is unlikely that a presidential-style debate in India will have much of substance that could sway voters, who seem to be swayed more by personalities or caste considerations or local affiliations than policies.
