Leaders debate

In jurisdictions that elect holders of high political office such as president or prime minister, candidates sometimes debate in public, usually during a general election campaign. Such debates are sometimes called leaders' debates or presidential debates. Rather than reaching a resolution, the purpose of the debate is to expose candidates' policies and opinions, and criticism of them, to potential voters. They are normally televised, and may be organized by one or more television stations.

The success of early televised debates such as the 1960 American presidential debate between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon, viewed by 70 million people, would eventually spur the desire to hold similar, televised debates in countries under the parliamentary system. Television had quickly proven to be an excellent and efficient means of reaching out to large blocs of the electorate. The unique aspect of the parliamentary system which creates the desire to hold leaders' debates is that the party leader is usually the party's presumed candidate to lead the government, because by constitutional convention he or she will usually become prime minister or premier if his or her party wins the most seats. However, a leaders' debate is not technically a candidates debate in the same sense that an American presidential debate would be, because in the latter case the American political parties have explicitly nominated the named individuals as their candidates for president and vice president.

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