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Royal audience with Perak Regent Dr. Nazrin Shah

I was granted an audience with the Perak Regent Raja Dr. Nazrin Shah after the swearing-in ceremony of engineer and PAS Perak Secretary Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin as Perak Menteri Besar at the Iskandariah Palace, Kuala Kangsar today where I personally apologized for any offence caused to the Perak Sultan and Regent

On Saturday, I had written a formal letter of apology to the Perak Sultan.

At the swearing-in ceremony for the new Perak Mentri Besar, three representatives from each of the three parties to the state coalition government, DAP, PKR and PAS (DPP) were invited to attend. DAP was represented by the DAP Perak State Chairman Ngeh Koo Ham (MP for Bruas and State Assemblyman for Sitiawan), Perak State Secretary Nga Kor Ming (MP for Taiping and State Assemblyman for Pantai Remis) and myself.

The formation of the new Perak State Exco, based on a 6-3-2 formula for DAP, PKR and PAS respectively, is the next step for the formation of the Perak DPP coalition government. Continue reading “Royal audience with Perak Regent Dr. Nazrin Shah”

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UMNO Ultras Defanged

by M. Bakri Musa

One least noted but most consequential impact of this last election is that those rabidly racist UMNO ultras have been effectively defanged. Malaysians can now be assured that the next UMNO General Assembly will not see the likes of Hishammuddin Hussein or Khairy Jamaluddin putting on their race-taunting, kris-wielding stunts.

These hitherto UMNO young bulls have been, as we say here on the ranch, “cut off.” Yes, castrated! They are now reduced to sterile steers destined for the slaughterhouse; they are not worthy to propagate the herd.

Khairy Jamaluddin in particular had a near-death political experience in Rembau, his father’s village and a previously safe UMNO constituency. Unknown PKR’s candidate Badrul Hisham Shaharin, or Chegu Bard, a product of the local kampong school and the nearby Raja Melewar Teachers’ College, proved a formidable opponent for Khairy, the self-puffed ego and product of Oxford University via Singapore’s World United College.

Khairy is smart enough to realize that had it not been for the timely “rescue” in the form of postal votes, together with the earlier last minute cancellation by the Elections Commission on the use of indelible ink that would have prevented fraudulent voting, Chegu Bard would have easily humbled Khairy. How else to explain an initial hundred-vote victory for Chegu Bard would turn out to be a massive 5,000-vote victory for Khairy on “recount”?

As I wrote elsewhere, even UMNO morons are teachable. That is not a surprise, for the ability to learn is an attribute of all living things. The only variable is the slope of the learning curve and of course the timing.

UMNO operatives may have learned their lesson with this election, but it is already too late. The implosion of UMNO has begun. Continue reading “UMNO Ultras Defanged”

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The Malaysian revolution of 2008!

by Dr. Azly Rahman

“We’ve lost, we’ve lost”
–Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, quoted in Malaysiakini, March 9 2008

Kesilapan besar Abdullah antaranya walaupun beliau mempunyai anggota Majlis Tertinggi Umno dan Kabinet sebagai penasihat utamanya, namun beliau tidak mengambil pandangan mereka kerana dilaporkan beliau pernah berkata I trust the young one.

— Harakah Daily.Net, March 9, 2008

Are you surprised by (ISA detainee) M Manoharan’s victory?
This has happened before in 1959 or is it 1964, when PAS used to go from village to village carrying the candidate’s shoes and he won….

Has Umno become irrelevant?
For the moment, yes. It’s not always so. If Umno serves the country well, and looks after all the different races, then Umno will be relevant again.

— Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysikini interview, March 9, 2008

Malaysia’s 12th. General Election must now be a possible topic of a hundred Ph.D dissertations. It is about a revolution of a country trapped in the excesses of hypermodernity. The revolution was aided by the power of cybernetics and the daulat of the rakyat. It was fueled by the ruling regime’s abuse of the ideological state apparatuses. It was also a rude awakening for a leader snoozing in Sleepy Hollow. While one slept, the rakyat engineered a usurpation—a quiet and unique revolution.

On March 9, 2008 many must have exclaimed these: “What a tsunami of a win”. “Malaysians did the Obama!”, “We have taken the giant leap forward.” “Thirteen days that shook Malaya” the headline should be. “Secure the state documents.” “We need to begin a chapter in which transparency and accountability rules.” “This is a victory of Radical Marhaenism – and ethnogenesis (birth of a new culture) of hopefully a more sober and sensible Malaysia ready to work together regardless of race, color, creed, national origin.” Continue reading “The Malaysian revolution of 2008!”

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Now see what happens when you play around with the keris?

By Farish A. Noor

As the broken remnants of the Barisan Nasional recuperate and recover what is left of their shattered pride, it would be prudent to take a step back and look at some of the factors that have certainly contributed to the dismal showing the BN component parties and the UMNO party in particular.

It is clear to many that this election was, in some ways, a singularly unique event in the same way that the 2004 elections were special. 2004’s election results could be read as a collective sigh of relief on the part of the Malaysian electorate after twenty years of rule under the Mahathir government, which witnessed a host of controversial incidents ranging from the BMF scandal of the early 1980s all the way up to Ops Lalang in 1987. The enormous mandate given to the Badawi government was a sign that the public was thirsting for change and that they were no longer willing to live with the modes of governance and politics that we have all grown sadly accustomed to for lack of a choice…

This time round, the electorate has once again spoken to signal their utter disillusionment after it became painfully evident that none of the reform policies foregrounded by the Badawi team were ever going to come true. Instead this had been an administration long on gimmicks and novelties, but short on substance and delivery. Was it necessary to send a Malaysian astronaut to space on a Russian craft, to make the vain boast that a Malaysian citizen had been there and done that? If this was meant to assuage the anger and frustration of Malaysians who lived in estates and poorly-run low-cost urban housing, it certainly had the opposite effect of driving home the point that this administration was out of touch with reality and totally disconnected with the needs and wants of the people.

But vain boasts notwithstanding, the Badawi government suffered its long-overdue shock due to the vain boasts of some of its leaders and spokesmen. Here is it worth noting the effect that UMNO’s own overheated pyrotechnics had on the sentiments and sensibilities of a significant section of the Malaysian public; namely the non-Malays and non-Muslims of the country. In particular we are referring to the repeated assertion on the part of some hot-headed UMNO leaders who continued to harp on about the notion of Malay dominance in a racially and religiously diverse and plural society. Continue reading “Now see what happens when you play around with the keris?”

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Time to move on into the uncharted political waters

This morning I visited Taman Cempaka market and the Pasir Puteh market together with the three elected DAP Assemblymen in Ipoh Timur parliamentary constituency – Su Keong Siong (Pasir Pinji), Wong Kah Woh (Canning) and Ong Boon Piow (Tebing Tinggi) – to thank the Ipoh Timor voters for their great support in the March 8 general election returning me as MP with a humbling majority of 21,942 votes as well as securing a DAP victory in all the three constituent assembly seats of Pasir Pinji, Canning and Tebing Tinggi with impressive majorities of 6,339, 5,666 and 2,515 respectively.

Earlier, three days ago, I had visited the Kampong Simee and Pasir Pinji markets in my thank-the-voters rounds.

In my rounds today, I received mixed reactions to the proposed DAP-PKR-PAS Perak State coalition government headed by a PAS Mentri Besar, details of which were finalized two nights ago with regard to the 6-3-2 allocation of Exco seats respectively for DAP, PKR and PAS and awaiting the holding of the swearing-in ceremony.

The mixed reactions could be divided into the following categories:

• Support;
• Conditional support with concerns about Islamisation undermining the constitutional rights of Malaysians;
• Outright opposition, regarding the DAP-PKR-PAS coalition government with a PAS MB as a betrayal of the DAP’s general election mandate. Continue reading “Time to move on into the uncharted political waters”

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Apology to Perak Sultan and Regent – No offence intended

My three-paragraph statement at 7 pm last night that the DAP Central Executive Committee emergency meeting on 9th March had not given approval for a PAS Mentri Besar to head a Perak coalition state government was not made out of disrespect to the Perak Sultan and Regent both whom I have always held in the highest regard and I apologise for any offence caused. The statement was on the party position at the time.

There have been further discussions and developments on the matter in the hours after the statement. Announcements of the latest position will be made.

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Administrator Notice

limkitsiang.com is under very heavy traffic. We are monitoring the server and as well tweaking the database server to best cope with the traffic. We have infact just upgraded the server specs earlier which some of you might experience as server becoming not available.

You might experience intermittent Internal Server 500 error. Please just refresh once and wait till the page load. If it does not, refresh again. Please do not click refresh on your browser repeatedly.

We have also change the setting so that the blog front page only shows 2 posts (including this post) to help the server cope with the traffic. It will be restored to original 15 posts once traffic is more manageable.

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No DAP CEC mandate for PAS Menteri Besar in Perak

The decision to appoint a PAS Assemblyman Mohamad Nizar Jamaludin as Perak Mentri Besar has caused shock and consternation to DAP leaders, members and supporters.

The DAP Central Executive Committee, at its emergency meeting in Penang on Sunday, 9th March 2008, had given approval for the formation of a Perak coalition government comprising 18 DAP Assembly members, seven PKR Assemblymen and six PAS Assemblymen.

DAP is prepared to accept DAP chairman and Assemblyman for Sitiawan Ngeh Koo Ham or PKR Behrang Assemblyman Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi as Perak Mentri Besar.

As the appointment of PAS Assemblyman for Pasir Panjang Mohamad Nizar Jamaludin as Perak Mentri Besar representing the third and smallest political party in the proposed coalition has not received the mandate of the CEC, DAP Perak Assemblymen will stay away from the swearing-in ceremony for Perak Mentri Besar scheduled tomorrow.

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The mornings after the 12th general election…

I had thought that the tempo would have lessened considerably after polling day on March 8 to allow for some rest and physical recovery, but it was the exact opposite – an even more hectic period since the results started flooding in on the same night of a political tsunami which saw the historic loss of the ruling coalition’s hitherto unbroken two-thirds parliamentary majority for 50 years, the loss of five state governments by the Barisan Nasional and the toppling of Ministers, Deputy Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries.

I left Ipoh for Penang at about 10 pm without being able to wait for the official results of the Ipoh Timor parliamentary seat when results were clear that Barisan Nasional had lost power in Penang to a DAP-led coalition government.

When I arrived in Penang by car after midnight, I learnt that the political tsunami had also swept Barisan Nasional from power in Perak, Selangor, Kedah and Kelantan.

The next three days were dizzying days, rushing up and down again and again from one state to another, particularly in the three states of Perak, Penang and Selangor to deal with the aftermath of the political tsunami of March 8.

The high point was undoubtedly the swearing-in of Lim Guan Eng as the DAP Chief Minister of Penang yesterday. At the surprise birthday cake presented by Penang DAP on February 20, I had made a birthday wish that DAP under the leadership of Guan Eng could capture the Penang state government in the general election. I had told newsmen to ask me about what birthday wish I had made after the general election, and I revealed after Guan Eng’s swearing-in yesterday of my birthday wish which had come true.

I apologise that this blog was disrupted because of very heavy traffic on the night of polling day and is only restored last night.
I also apologise that because of the hectic pace of keeping up with the events post-March 8, I have not been able to do any updates on the many portentous events taking place in the country or to follow the huge volume of comments.

In a very quick and cursory check, after the restoration of the blog, various comments have been made about Guan Eng’s statement and announcements after he was sworn in as Penang Chief Minister.

I am trying to settle down, including updating this blog regularly.

Let us start with Guan Eng’s swearing-in statement and announcements, so that commentators will not have to depend just on media reports which may not give the full and proper picture.

This is Guan Eng’s statement after his swearing-in as Penang Chief Minister:

(Speech By New Penang Chief Minister, Bagan MP and State Assemblyman for Air Puteh And DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng In Komtar Building Upon His Swearing-In On 11.3.2008)

Penang DAP & PKR Coalition Government’s Agenda For Change To Re-establish Rule By The Rakyat

Three days ago, the people of Penang voted for change by giving DAP and PKR a clear mandate of a two-thirds majority to form a coalition government. Today, we present you the Agenda for Change – from this Government of the rakyat.

DAP and PKR’s coalition government’s Agenda for Change to re-establish rule by the rakyat will centre on the key areas of Economy, Governance and the Social Needs of the People.

This is a government that is based on democracy – the core of governance. This is a government that advocates and practices Integrity and Transparency. This is also a government that believes in equal opportunity and socio-economic justice. Continue reading “The mornings after the 12th general election…”

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Political tsunami in general election

There is a political tsunami in the 12th general election, with the Barisan Nasional suffering probably its biggest setback in history.

From available reports, DAP has won victories, in some cases with huge majorities, in the following Parliamentary seats:

1. Bagan
2. Tanjong
3. Bukit Glugor
4. Ipoh Timur
5. Batu Gajah
6. Petaling Jaya Utara
7. Seputeh
8. Kepong
9. Bukit Bintang
10. Cheras
11. Bandar Kuching
12. Segambut
13. Kota Melaka

(Note: Announcement of Sandakan win was premature. DAP parliamentary candidate Shanty Chong lost by a mere 174 votes.)

DAP is leading in the following Parliamentary seats:

1. Sarikei
2. Serdang
3. Klang
4. Taiping
5. Bruas
6. Teluk Intan
7. Jelutong
8. Bukit Bendera
9. Batu Kawan

For state assembly seats, DAP has won

1. Subang Jaya;
2. Teratai

In Penang the three state seats of Tanjong and Bagan have also been won by DAP. Other Penang state seats won by DAP are Air Puteh, Prai, Batu Lanchang, Pulau Tikus and leading in all the other state seats contested by DAP. DAP has also won new state seats in Perak, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Malacca and Johore.

One of the most noted state assembly win is the Sri Tanjong seat of Tawau, Sabah.

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Top DAP Election Ceramah Donations

Top DAP Ceramah Donations during the 12th general election campaign:

29.2.08 Ipoh Timor RM22,311
01.3.08 Penang RM38,000
02.3.08 Ipoh Timor RM38,025
03.3.08 Kota Melaka RM50,000
04.3.08 Klang RM63,000
05.3.08 Puchong RM35,000
05.3.08 Port Klang RM42,000
06.3.08 Penang RM133,000
07.3.08 Ipoh Timor RM82,000

This is not a complete list and will be revised with new information.

The great support to the DAP general election campaign, both in mammoth ceramah turnouts and unprecedented donations, give hope that the 12th general election is set for a major political change in Malaysia.

Lets keep our fingers crossed that when the votes are counted, Malaysia will be set to begin a new political era for democracy, accountability and integrity.

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Abdullah got it wrong again in his polling-eve TV message

Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in his 9 pm TV polling-eve message said:

“You have to vote for our future. You have to vote for our children…

“What will happen if there is chaos and there is instability?”

Abdullah got only the first part right, that Malaysian voters must vote for their future and their children.

He got the second part completely wrong – as the choice before the Malaysian voters is not between Barisan Nasional on the one hand and chaos and instability on the other.

This is a false choice.

The real choice in the ballot box today is whether to choose a Malaysia of excellence , glory and distinction or a Malaysia of mediocrity, indignity and shame; a Malaysia where every Malaysian regardless of race or religion has a equal place under the Malaysian sun instead of a Malaysia where the best and brightest are driven to foreign lands in one exodus after another to bestow excellence, glory and distinction to other countries instead of to their homeland. Continue reading “Abdullah got it wrong again in his polling-eve TV message”

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At least 3 DAP MPs each from Sabah and Sarawak – provided no split votes

It is regrettable that the understanding between DAP and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) for a “one-to-one” contest against the Barisan Nasional (BN) could not be extended from Peninsular Malaysia to Sabah and Sarawak, resulting in three or multi-cornered contests in the two East Malaysian states.

After the 12 days of campaigning, it is clear that in both Sabah and Sarawak, where DAP candidates are involved in three or multi-cornered contests, the real battle is between the DAP and the BN candidates.

In the 2007 general election, where every parliamentary and state assembly seat counts in the national objective to smash Umno political hegemony, it is imperative that the voters in Sabah and Sarawak are fully conscious and mindful that they should not allow any BN candidate in the two states to win because of split Opposition votes – which could only prevent the DAP candidate from winning by allowing the BN candidate to slip into victory by minority votes.

We can look forward to at least 3 DAP MPs from Sabah and Sarawak each in the general election tomorrow, provided there is no split votes to let the BN candidate win by default of split majority votes. Continue reading “At least 3 DAP MPs each from Sabah and Sarawak – provided no split votes”

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Putrajaya 4th-storey boys rushed in Penang – BN panics at wind of change in polls

Marking growing panic in the Barisan Nasional at the strong winds of change rising up in the land, highlighted by last night’s 60,000-strong DAP ceramah crowd at Han Chiang Chinese School grounds in Penang which collected over RM130,000 in public donations, the Putrajaya Fourth-Storey Boys have rushed up to Penang with their final bag of dirty tricks to check, counter and reverse the tide of change embracing Penang and the whole nation in the 12th general election.

The twin DAP objectives in the March 8, 2008 general election – to deny Barisan Nasional two-thirds majority in Parliament and the Penang State Assembly – seem to be increasingly feasible and within reach, and this is causing panic in Barisan Nasional circles.

Can the Putrajaya 4th-Storey Boys block and reverse the rising wind of change in Penang and Malaysia?

One brain-child of the Putrajaya 4th-storey Boys is the unprecedented live telecast of the Prime Minister to the nation as the final election campaign message of the Barisan chairman, which will be telecast live to the nation over the television channels.

This will be in the form of an interview with the Prime Minister by The Star Group Editor Datuk Wong Chun Wai and TV3’s Fuad Abdul Rahman in the Bual Pilihanraya programme at 9 pm.

This final election campaign message, to be telecast live over the television channels, will also be the final election abuse by Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who is completely indifferent to ethics, morality and integrity of government leaders, especially during the period of the election campaign after dissolution of Parliament until the election of a new Parliament and government, when he is only caretaker Prime Minister and all Ministers mere caretaker Ministers.

A caretaker Prime Minister has no business to give his final election campaign message as Barisan Chairman unless similar live-telecast time is offered to leaders of political parties in the Opposition to similarly deliver their “final election campaign” messages. Continue reading “Putrajaya 4th-storey boys rushed in Penang – BN panics at wind of change in polls”

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Devilish Star heading with two lies in 11 words – call for nation-wide firestorm protest without instant Star online apology

(Media Conference Statement 2 at DAP Ipoh Timur Ops Centre on Friday, 7th March 2008 at 12.30 pm)

The Star headline “Opposition senses victory – Anwar and Kit Siang confident of forming next govt with PAS” today are downright double lies.

This is the Star report (N 12):

PKR and DAP will form next Government , say Anwar and Kit Siang

By AUDREY EDWARDS and CHAN LI LEEN

KUALA LUMPUR: Buoyed by the large crowds at their rallies, opposition parties are now claiming they can win the general election and form the next Government.

PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his DAP counterpart Lim Kit Siang both expressed confidence that their loose coalition, which also includes PAS, had the support of the voters.

In Rembau, Anwar said he was confident the Opposition would win and “our first duty to the people is to bring down oil prices.”
“God willing, we will win on March 8. You tell those Barisan (Nasional) boys we will win,” he saud.

“And when DAP, PKR and PAS win on March 8, we will bring down the oil prices on March 9,” he said at a ceramah yesterday.

In Ipoh, Lim said a strong and powerful wind of change was blowing in the land and he was also confident of the voters’ support.

This, he said, was evident by the mammoth turnout, enthusiastic responses and generous donations of Malaysians at ceramah held in various states.

“The crowd numbered from several thousands to more than 10,000 at the ceramah I attended in Malacca, Negri Sembilan, Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Perak and Penang in the past three days,” Lim told reporters yesterday.

“But the question is whether the wind of change rising will be strong and powerful enough on March 8 to make it a day of history and a day of destiny for Malaysia,” Lim added.

There is nothing wrong with the report filed by the Star reporter Chan Li Leen but everything wrong with the heading given by the sub-editor or editor. Continue reading “Devilish Star heading with two lies in 11 words – call for nation-wide firestorm protest without instant Star online apology”

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No Chinese representationn in govt – then Pak Lah must step down as PM as he had promised to be PM for all races

(Media Conference Statement by DAP Parliamentary Candidate for Ipoh Timur Lim Kit Siang at the DAP Ipoh Timur Ops Centre, Ipoh on Friday, 7th March 2008 at 12 noon)

I am utterly shocked and stunned – that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has done what even Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad in his most undemocratic excesses had never done in 22 years as Prime Minister, trying to force the Chinese voters to vote for MCA and Gerakan with the irresponsible threat that they could end up without any Chinese Ministers or representation in Government.

It is a grave sign of political desperation and bankruptcy – that Abdullah himself should go down into the gutter to indulge in the politics of scare, intimidation and blackmail to force the Chinese voters to vote for MCA and Gerakan candidates.

The MCA leadership has been adopting a “Jekyll-and-Hyde” attitude – playing both the role of human being and the devil at the same time – with the MCA Deputy President Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy boldly declaring only yesterday that MCA is confident it will be able to capture the majority of the 40 parliamentary and 60 state assembly seats it is contesting, while on the other hand, egging Abdullah to warn that the Chinese will end up not having any representation in the Government if the Chinese give the DAP their votes. Continue reading “No Chinese representationn in govt – then Pak Lah must step down as PM as he had promised to be PM for all races”

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BN leaders – grow up and accept ups and downs of democratic process

(Media Conference Statement by DAP Parliamentary Candidate for Ipoh Timor Lim Kit Siang at DAP Ipoh Timor Ops Centre on Thursday, 6th March 2008 at 12 noon)

Tomorrow is the last day for campaigning before the country goes to polls for the 12th general election on Saturday, March 8, 2008.
Will March 8, 2008 usher a paradigm shift in the Malaysian political landscape by stripping the Barisan Nasional of its unbroken two-thirds parliamentary majority and deal a fatal blow to Umno political hegemony?

It is a tall order just to deny the Barisan Nasional two-thirds parliamentary majority on Saturday, for the DAP, PKN and PAS will each have to win at least 25 seats to ensure that the BN is defeated in at least 75 parliamentary seats, the “magic figure” to make BN’s two-third parliamentary majority and Umno political hegemony history in Malaysia. Continue reading “BN leaders – grow up and accept ups and downs of democratic process”

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Election debates – just do it!

BY Azly Rahman

During presidential elections in the United States, it has become customary for the main candidates (almost always the candidates of the two main parties, currently the Democratic Party and the Republican Party) to engage in a debate. The topics discussed in the debate are often the most controversial issues of the time, and some have said that elections can be won or lost based on these debates…. Presidential debates are held late in the election cycle, after the political parties have nominated their candidates. The candidates meet in a large hall, often at a university, before an audience of citizens. The formats of the debates have varied, with questions sometimes posed from one or more journalist moderators and in other cases members of the audience – from Wikipedia Continue reading “Election debates – just do it!”