Editing Leaders' debate

{{Short description|Public debate held during a general election campaign}}
{{More citations needed|date=September 2007}}
[[File:Kennedy Nixon debate New York 1960.jpg|thumb|Presidential debate between [[John F. Kennedy]] and [[Richard Nixon]] for the [[1960 United States presidential election|1960 election in the United States]].]]
A '''leaders' debate''' or '''presidential debate''' is a [[public debate]] held during a [[general election]] campaign, where the candidates expose their [[political opinion]]s and [[public policy]] proposals, and criticism of them, to potential [[voter]]s. They are normally broadcast live on [[radio]], [[television]] and the [[Internet]]. The events may be organized by media corporations or non-government organizations.

Leaders' debates are often popular with voters, whose decisions might be greatly influenced by the outcome.  Leaders have occasionally attempted to use [[Theatrical property|prop]]s (such as [[chart]]s or signs bearing [[slogan]]s) during a debate with varying degrees of success.

==History==
Precursors to television debates were the candidate forums [[Radio in 1920s elections|broadcast over radio in elections in the 1920s]]. 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,<ref>Lapsansky-Werner, Emma J. United States History: Modern America. Boston, MA: Pearson Learning Solutions, 2011. Print. Page 505</ref>  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 [[political party|party]] leader is usually the party's presumed candidate to lead the government, because by [[constitutional convention (political custom)|constitutional convention]] he or she will usually become [[prime minister]] or [[premier]] if his or her party is able to obtain a majority, by itself or as part of a coalition government.  However, a leaders' debate is not technically a candidates debate in the same sense that an [[U.S. presidential election debates|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 of the United States|president]] and [[Vice President of the United States|vice president]].

==Format==
The exact format for a leaders' debate varies, but normally the debate will begin with each leader making a short opening statement.  Then a panel of well-known [[journalist]]s will ask sets of prepared questions, which are to be answered either by all of the leaders or by one specific leader.  After the leader(s) answer each question, the other leader(s) may get a chance to make a brief response, after which there may be some time allocated for an often heated "free for all" debate.  The [[Chairman|moderator]] will usually attempt to exercise some control through all of this, and then stop the debate after time has elapsed so the next question can be asked.  After the panelists finish asking questions, each leader will make his or her closing remarks and the debate will end.

Who gets invited to participate in a leaders' debate is often a sensitive issue.  Some jurisdictions may have dozens of fringe political parties which few networks would care to have participating in their debates.  For the sake of brevity, and to ensure the leaders of the main parties have adequate time to address voters on a wide range of issues, it is extremely rare for any leaders' debate to have more than five leaders.  A more common number would be three while Australia has two.  Leaders' debates are often restricted to parties which elected representatives in the previous election.  Exceptions may be made for parties with close to a full slate of candidates, but this is not always the case.  For example, in [[Canada]] in the [[2004 Canadian federal election|2004]] and [[2006 Canadian federal election|2006]] the [[Green Party of Canada]] was excluded from the federal leaders' debates until [[2008 Canadian federal election|2008]] when public pressure on the other parties allowed the Green Party to join the debate, and the [[Alberta Alliance]] was excluded from the [[Alberta]]n provincial leaders debate, even though both parties had full slates in their respective elections.  Parties that are excluded will often complain bitterly about their exclusion, sometimes claiming that the political establishment has conspired in an effort to keep their party on the political fringe. The inclusion of certain parties in debates can be controversial too. A common complaint about the Canadian debates is voiced by a report from the [[Centre for the Study of Democracy]], which calls for the [[Bloc Québécois]], a party only active in mostly French-speaking Quebec, to be removed from its current position in the English-language debates.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://ottawacitizen.com/life/Blocking+Bloc/1994287/story.html | newspaper = [[The Ottawa Citizen]] | title = Blocking the Bloc | date= September 15, 2009 | accessdate = October 3, 2009}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref>

In [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], debates were often so heated that the debaters would be placed in separate rooms.<ref name=StephenJones/>

The [[2019 Ukrainian presidential election]] innovated a new approach to the concept of a leaders' debate, where now-president, then-candidate [[Volodymyr Zelensky]] proposed to hold debates publicly in the country's largest stadium, the [[Olympic Stadium (Kiev)|Kyiv Olympic Stadium]]. After much negotiation, the debates were held 48 hours before the election between then-president [[Peter Poroshenko]] and Zelensky, in front of nearly 30,000 spectators.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fakty.com.ua/ru/ukraine/20190419-skilky-lyudej-pryjshlo-na-debaty-poroshenko-zelenskyj-na-stadioni/|title = Сколько людей пришло на дебаты Порошенко — Зеленский на стадионе &#124; Факты ICTV|date = 20 April 2019}}</ref>

==Participating countries==
The following countries hold leaders' debates:<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/apr/07/debates-leaders-media "All eyes on the leaders' debates"]. ''[[The Guardian]]''. Martin Kettle. April 7, 2010. Retrieved April 15, 2010.</ref>

* [[Presidential debates in Argentina|Argentina]]
* Australia - see [[2016 Australian federal election debates and forums|2016]] and [[2019 Australian federal election debates and forums|2019]]
* Brazil - see [[2010 Brazilian presidential election debates|2010]], [[2014 Brazilian general election#Debates|2014]] and [[2018 Brazilian general election#Debates|2018]]
* [[Canadian leaders debates|Canada]]
* Chile - see [[2013 Chilean general election#Debates|2013]]
* Czech Republic - see [[2013 Czech presidential election debates|2013]] and [[2018 Czech presidential election debates|2018]]
* [[Ecuador]]
* Egypt - see [[2012 Egyptian presidential debate|2012]]
* [[French presidential debates|France]]
* [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]]<ref name=StephenJones>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hcMZCAAAQBAJ&pg=PR19|title=Georgia: A Political History Since Independence|first=Stephen|authorlink=Stephen F. Jones|page=19|last=Jones|date=2013|publisher=I.B. Tauris|isbn=9781784530853|via=Google Books|access-date=12 January 2019}}</ref>
* [[Elefantenrunde|Germany]]
* [[Indonesia]] - see [[2024 Indonesian presidential election|2024]]
* [[Ireland]]
* Iran - see [[2013 Iranian presidential election debates|2013]] and [[2017 Iranian presidential election debates|2017]]
* [[Kenya]]
* [[Malta]]
* [[Mexico]]
* [[Netherlands]]
* New Zealand - see [[2017 New Zealand general election#Major debates|2017]] and [[2020 New Zealand general election#Debates|2020]]
* Philippines - see [[1992 Philippine presidential election|1992]], [[PiliPinas Debates 2016|2016]], [[2019 Philippine Senate election#Debates|2019]] and [[PiliPinas Debates 2022|2022]]
* Portugal - see [[2019 Portuguese legislative election#Candidates' debates|2019]] and [[2021 Portuguese presidential election#Candidates' debates|2021]]
* [[Spain]]
* [[Tunisia]] - see [[2019 Tunisian presidential election#Televised debates|2019]]
* United Kingdom - see [[United Kingdom general election debates, 2010|2010]], [[United Kingdom general election debates, 2015|2015]], [[United Kingdom general election debates, 2017|2017]], [[United Kingdom general election debates, 2019|2019]] and [[2024 United Kingdom general election debates |2024]]
* [[United States presidential debates|United States]]
* [[Uruguay]]

==See also==
* [[Party political broadcast]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Election campaigning]]
[[Category:Debate types]]
[[Category:Leaders' debates| ]]