The first debate among the six candidates of the 12th Iranian presidential election has been aired live on state television.

The candidates outlined their plans for the post. They were given an equal time to garner as many votes as possible in order to win the ticket to the office.

The live broadcast, which lasted for three hours, aimed to reduce the candidates’ campaign spending and pave the way for eligible voters to make their choice based on the sharp-cut and unambiguous plans represented during the program.

The six candidates running for the presidential election are Mostafa Aqa-Mirsalim, Mostafa Hashemi-Taba, Es’haq Jahangiri, Hassan Rouhani, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi.

Iranians will go to the polls on May 19 to elect the country’s next president.

The six Iran presidential hopefuls

Upon entering the headquarters of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) in the capital, Tehran, Rouhani was asked if he was ready, to which he responded, "We're probably all ready that we have come [here]."

Meanwhile, Mehr news agency reported that the debate had been put off half an hour to 16:30 local time (1200 GMT) upon the request of Rouhani's camp.

Morteza Heidari, the renowned Iranian television news host and presenter who moderated the debate, also said he was prepared for the task and everything had been rehearsed

Iranian presidential candidates Hassan Rouhani (3rd L) and Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi lead the group of hopefuls to the IRIB studio in Tehran where a debate is due to be held on April 28, 2016.

There will be three live televised debates in total. Today's debate focused on social issues while the next two will revolve around economic and political matters.

The candidates have drawn lots to determine their seating arrangement for the debate. Every effort seems to have been made not to leave any room for accusations of partiality.

According to schedule, Fars News Agency reports, the candidates can hold a meeting of 15 minutes with the aides and advisors after 90 minutes of debate.

The debate began with Heidari outlining its format and regulations and how the time would be broken up between the candidates.

Settlement on outskirts of cities

Aqa-Mirsalim was the first candidate to answer the first question about settlements on the outskirts and peripheries of cities. This too was determined through a draw. Aqa-Mirsalim expressed his serious concern about lack of management of natural resources. He said correct water management would be the first step to reduce immigration from rural areas to cities. He added that lack of attention to proper spatial planning was the main reason behind immigration.

The other five candidates then took two-minute turns to make their own remarks on the issue and challenge Aqa-Mirsalim. Hashemi-Taba said Iran is plagued with severe environmental crisis. The third hopeful, incumbent Rouhani, said that immigration to big cities is a major problem not only in Iran but in most countries. He added that unemployment and low income are major reasons behind immigration to big cities. Qalibaf, for his part, said social and economic imbalance is a major reason behind immigration. Jahangiri said attention to immigrants to big cities must be the first priority in tackling their problems. Raeisi said the first priority is to have correct figures on immigration to big cities. While Qalibaf put the number of outskirts dwellers at 11 million, Raeisi said the figure belongs to four years ago and currently stands at around 16 million.

Aqa-Mirsalim then retook to the podium and said immigration should be curbed before it gives rise to social crises and added that 350,000 illegal wells have wasted the country’s water resources and caused immigration. The candidate said social facilities must be distributed evenly in cities and villages and expressed regret that some 10.2 million Iranians are totally illiterate. He noted that suitable housing must be provided in small towns and villages to prevent immigration.

Social justice

Raeisi was next up on the podium. He responded to a query on social justice and how to establish and promote it in Iran. In the four minutes allocated to him, Raeisi said the GINI Index, a measurement of the income distribution of a country's residents, shows class divide has increased in Iran, adding that tripling subsidies handed out to lower classes would be a good way to narrow the social gaps. He noted that tax evasion must be prevented to promote social justice.

Rouhani stressed the importance of striking a balance between eastern and western parts of the country. Qalibaf said promoting social justice would be difficult as long as urban crises are not resolved. Jahangiri said social justice is not limited to economic issues but also includes education, political and judicial matters.

Raeisi one again took to the podium to give his responses and explanations about questions raised by the other hopefuls. He said joblessness and shutdown of production units are major problems facing the country’s economy. He added that the next administration must make plans to narrow social gaps in a bid to promote justice.

Housing

Hashemi-Taba was the third candidate who took to the podium to responsd to a debate question about his plans to solve the country's housing problem. He said bank loans and mass construction would be good ways to tackle the housing problem, adding that job creation would help resolve this issue.

Jahangiri said unoccupied housing units are the main obstacle to solving the housing problem and added that increasing bank loans and establishing housing investment funds would be good solutions to this issue.

Hashemi-Taba then retook to the podium and used his five-minute time to answer the raised questions.

Youth marriage

Rouhani was the next hopeful taking to the podium to respond to a debate question about his plans to encourage the youth marriage. He said unemployment was the main problem facing the promotion of youth marriage and added that boosting hope and avoiding unnecessary limitations in the society are key to solve problems. He said hope for future has increased in the Iranian society and employment has improved. Hope for future and employment are the best ways to promote youth marriage in Iran, Rouhani added.

Raeisi said banking facilities, housing and employment are the main necessities to promote marriage among young Iranians. The other candidates also offered their viewpoints with Qalibaf challenging Rouhani on an alleged pledge that Rouhani had made during the previous presidential campaign to create four million jobs. Rouhani denied ever making that promise.

Rouhani then said oil revenues and taxation are major sources of the administration’s income and noted that his administration has reduced dependence on oil revenues to below 30 percent.

Cutting down on red tape

Jahangiri was the fifth presidential candidate to use his four-minute time to outline his plans on reducing bureaucracy in executive bodies. He said the current administration has managed to change the security-based approach to social issues and added that most of the Iranian people are not satisfied with municipalities and banks. The current first vice president said the establishment of an e-government was the major step to reduce bureaucracy.

Raeisi said an electronic government would increase transparency and facilitate the administrative processes. Rouhani said some media outlets undermine the social capital in the country. In this segment, Qalibaf questioned the reason behind Jahangiri's candidacy, implying that Jahangiri has only registered to support Rouhani.

Jahangiri said forceful measures would fail to solve social problems and added that he took part in the presidential election as a representative of the Reformist camp. The current first vice president emphasized that the 11th administration has managed to increase petrochemical production by nine million tonnes.

Environmental challenges

Qalibaf was the last hopeful taking to the podium to answer a question about his plans to tackle the environmental challenges if elected president. He said the dust storm problem is currently plaguing 20 Iranian provinces and added that inappropriate measures taken inside the country has led to this crisis.

Jahangiri said the current administration has succeeded in taking essential measures to solve the environmental problems. He added that 70 percent of the dust storm problem stems from reasons beyond Iran’s borders.

Qalibaf defended the performance of Tehran Municipality in the environment-protection sector, saying it has used garbage to generate power and produce compost. The mayor of Tehran added that over 20,000 hectares have been planted with trees around the capital.

With all the six candidates having taken to the podium, the moderator announced the end of the first section of the debate and called a break before the beginning of the second round.

Round 2

In the second section, each candidate was given two minutes to answer a question raised by the moderator. Draws determined the candidate and the question that he answers.

Rouhani explained his plans to promote employment for women, saying his administration has managed to create 700,000 jobs for women. He added that women account for over 50 percent of university students in Iran.

As per the draw, Aqa-Mirsalim next responded to a question about his plans to solve the heavy traffic problem in big cities and said giving priority to public transport would be the best solution to the issue.

Jahangiri was asked about his plans to boost the social status of the elites. He highlighted the fact that Iranian elites have greatly increased the country’s scientific ranking in the world.

Raeisi responded to a question about his plans to promote the culture of sportsmanship and said winning medals in sports is very important for the country.

Qalibaf and Hashemi-Taba also in turn provided answered to the questions posed to them. In this section Qalibaf displayed a screenshot of the Iranian president's website which he claimed confirms his remarks about Rouhani's pledge during the previous campaign to create four million jobs.

The next and final section of the debate involved each candidate providing their concluding remarks. This section involved a verbal back and forth between Qalibaf and Rouhani over some of the claims against the latter by the former throughout the debate. </s> The second Democratic presidential candidate debate for the 2020 election will be held Thursday night in Miami.

The first was held Wednesday night in Miami -- read about it and see highlights here.
• NBC will broadcast the debates live from 9-11 p.m. both nights.
• There are 10 participants scheduled to debate on both nights.
• These participants (see below) were selected in a drawing last week at NBC News' headquarters in New York.
• NBC says podium placements started with top polling candidates beginning at the center positions and lower polling contenders being placed closer to the edges of the stage. Candidates who were tied in the polls were ranked based on the overall number of qualifying polls, according to NBC News.
• Here's what happened Wednesday night in the first Democratic debate.

You may also watch it live streaming here:

Here are the Thursday night debate participants:

Here is who participated Wednesday night: </s> Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will make history as they take the stage together for the first time on Monday night (Tuesday morning India time), when they meet in New York for the first of the three presidential debates. It is for the first time in US presidential history that a male and female candidate will be facing off.

Both candidates have a lot at stake and each will have different opportunities and challenges in the debates.

Here are 7 things you need to know, including some you probably didn’t know, about the US presidential debate.

IMAGE: Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump will face off in their first debate on Tuesday morning Indian time. Photograph: Reuters

1) Where is it happening and when?

The first debate will be held at the Hofstra University in New York’s Long Island area. Hofstra is no newcomer to the debates, having hosted them in 2008 and 2012.

The debate will air in India at 9 pm ET (6.30 am IST on Tuesday). The questions will focus on three broad themes: America’s Direction, Achieving Prosperity and Securing America.

The second debate, on October 9 at Washington University in St Louis, will be moderated by Martha Raddatz of ABC and Anderson Cooper of CNN, while the third debate will be held on October 19 at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas. It will be moderated by Chris Wallace of Fox News.

2) Why is the debate historic?

This will be the first time in history that a male and female candidate will face off on a presidential debate stage. And like it or not, they will be judged differently.

Gender communications research shows that men, when they are aggressive, are received positively. When women are perceived as aggressive, they are received negatively. A lot thus rides on these debates.

3) How does the debate work?

The debate, which will be moderated be NBC News’s Lester Holt, will be 90 minutes long with six 15-minute segments and shall have no commercial interruptions.

Apart from the three broad themes referred to earlier, three more questions related to news events that took place this week will also be put to the candidates.

The moderator will open each segment with a question. Each candidate will have two minutes to respond; each will then be allowed to reply to the other's response. The moderator will use the remaining time for follow-up questions.

Each broad theme will be discussed for 30 minutes.

4) How are the candidates prepping for the debate?

While Clinton has a lengthy record of meticulous preparation and formidable performances, Trump has been more unpredictable on this front. After his controversial utterances he needs to be more a sober candidate and stick to the script.

To prepare for the debate, Clinton has been holding mock debate sessions where her aide Philippe Reines essays the role of Trump.

Trump aides said their candidate, who like Clinton participated in numerous TV debates during their respective parties’ nominating races, was preparing hard for the event. His coaches have focused for weeks on training him to stay on course and not drift off the message by booking events where he is trained to stick to the teleprompter.

5) What are the stakes for the candidates?

Both Clinton and Trump enter the debate as the two most deeply unpopular presidential candidates in recent history. The temerarious Trump needs and will have a chance to show the depth and steadiness worthy of a commander-in-chief.

Clinton will have a chance to prove her honesty (some 55 per cent of American voters fail her on this count) and will also have to prove that she has fully recovered from her recent bout of pneumonia.

6) How many people will watch the debates?

Many observers believe that the size of the audience is expected to challenge the presidential debate record of 80 million who watched the 1980 debate between then president Jimmy Carter and Republican challenger Ronald Reagan.

7) What about the candidates’ running mates?

The vice presidential bets Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia and Governor Mike Pence of Indiana will have one debate at Longwood University in Virgina on October 4. That debate will be moderated by Elaine Quijano of CBS News. </s> (CNN) - The first 2020 Democratic presidential debates are here, giving the 20 qualifying candidates the best opportunity to break through the crowded field in front of a national audience.

This is the first time that candidates will be able to draw contrasts with their rivals in a face-to-face setting.

Here is how to watch:

When are the first debates?

The first pair of Democratic debates is taking place on Wednesday and Thursday in Miami from 9 to 11 p.m. EDT on NBC.

Get ready for the debates all day on CNN.com and then stay with us for real-time news, analysis and fact-checking during and after the debates. CNN will have live TV programming starting at 11 p.m. EDT breaking down the biggest moments and story lines from the first debates.

What are the lineups?

Three Democratic hopefuls -- Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts and Mayor Wayne Messam of Miramar, Florida -- did not qualify for the first contests. Former Rep. Joe Sestak of Pennsylvania entered the race too late to qualify for this initial set of debates.

How were the debate stages decided?

Candidates had to qualify for the first debates by either receiving at least 1% support in three polls from an approved list of pollsters or receiving campaign contributions from 65,000 unique donors, including 200 donors each from 20 different states.

NBC divided the 20 qualifying candidates into two groups: those with polling averages at 2% or higher and those whose polling averages are under 2%. NBC then did a random selection, dividing up the top tier and lower tier into the two nights.

What are the rules for the debates?

Candidates have one minute to respond to questions and 30 seconds for follow-ups, according to NBC News. Each two-hour debate will be divided into five parts with four commercial breaks.

Candidates will not have the opportunity to make opening remarks but will be given time for closing statements.

Catch up on the candidates
• 'Every one of the decisions is her decision:' Inside Elizabeth Warren's policy factory
• What's behind Elizabeth Warren's rise? This wall of letters at her campaign HQ offers some clues
• Elizabeth Warren's rise opens a new chapter in the progressive primary
• Elizabeth Warren flew out of DC's most notorious airport gate. Here's what happened.
• Beto O'Rourke is polling worse than ever
• Cory Booker steps into the spotlight with forceful rebuke of Joe Biden
• Cory Booker is using an Oscar-nominated documentary to boost his 2020 bid
• Can love and unity beat Trump in 2020? Cory Booker wants to find out
• Iowa Democrats have struggled to organize Latinos. Julián Castro is trying to change that.
• Julián Castro on new policing plan: 'The system is broken'
• Tulsi Gabbard won't say whether Syria's Assad is a war criminal
• Tulsi Gabbard once touted working for anti-gay group that backed conversion therapy
• Gabbard says deploying to the Middle East changed her views on LGBT rights
• Jay Inslee calls out Joe Biden on combating climate change: 'We have to live in the real world here'
• Klobuchar lists actions she would take in first 100 days as president
• Amy Klobuchar's novel pitch for the Democratic nomination: Pragmatism
• Amy Klobuchar defends her staff treatment, says toughness needed when dealing with Putin
• The math is against Bill de Blasio 2020
• John Delaney booed by California Democrats after criticizing 'Medicare for All'
• Tim Ryan: I'm going to fight for the Americans Trump abandoned
• 'Barack picked him for a reason': South Carolina voters stand by Joe Biden after comments about segregationist senators
• 'He's going to have to earn it': Can Joe Biden hold on to his place as Democratic front-runner?
• Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren clash escalates in contest for progressive champion
• Bernie Sanders unveils plan to cancel all $1.6 trillion of student loan debt
• Bernie Sanders makes the case for democratic socialism as Trump attacks and moderate Democrats worry
• Kamala Harris touts prosecutor past as a strength: 'I know how to take on predators'
• Kamala Harris unveils immigration plan to expand deferred action, use executive action to provide pathway to citizenship
• Kirsten Gillibrand is campaigning by living her best life. So why aren't voters responding?
• Kirsten Gillibrand embraces Fox News host calling her not 'very polite'
• With viral speech as his introduction, Sen. Michael Bennet tests the waters in Iowa
• Michael Bennet links conservation with global warming in new climate plan
• Marianne Williamson moves to Des Moines in bid for the Iowa caucuses
• Marianne Williamson apologizes, says she misspoke in calling vaccines 'draconian'
• Swalwell: "I'm running for president to stop the shootings"
• Andrew Yang announces he will pay a second voter $1,000 a month
• Andrew Yang: We're undergoing the greatest economic transformation in our history
• Hickenlooper knocks DC politicians: They just spend their time 'pointing fingers'
• John Hickenlooper didn't mean to forget who you are: How face blindness has affected his political career </s> Sunday night is round two of the Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump presidential debates -- it’s likely to attract a lot of attention, especially given the emergence of a decade-old tape of Trump speaking about women in surprisingly vulgar terms that have earned him the condemnation of most Republicans, even those who have supported his campaign.

The debate, which will be a town hall meeting format, will be hosted by ABC’s Martha Raddatz and CNN’s Anderson Cooper at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

Both candidates squared off at the first debate on Sept. 26 at Hofstra University on Long Island in Hempstead, New York.

NBC appears to be the only major broadcast news network not airing the debate. Instead, it will be airing the NFL’s New York Giants away game against the Green Bay Packers.

Watch CBSN starting at 11a.m. ET for full coverage of the debate

The bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) said half of the questions in the second debate will be posed directly by citizen participants and the other half will be “based on topics of broad public interest as reflected in social media and other sources.”

Each candidate will have two minutes to respond to each question and the moderator will be able to facilitate a deeper discussion for an additional minute. Gallup is selecting uncommitted voters to participate in the town hall.

The commission determined which candidates was eligible for the second debate by averaging support among five different general election polls and it also required that each candidate must have constitutional eligibility -- like being at least 35 years of age and a natural born citizen of the U.S. Each candidate must also have his or her name appear on enough state ballots “to have at least a mathematical chance of securing an Electoral College majority” in November’s election.

Earlier this week, the commission announced that the polling averages from the five polls for the second debate had Clinton at 44.8 percent and Trump at 40.8 percent. With Libertarian Gary Johnson at 7.4 percent support and Green Party candidate Jill Stein at 2.6 percent support, they both did not qualify.

Most voters said Clinton won the first debate, according to polls. Trump also complained about his microphone at the first debate and the commission later admitted that there was an issue with his audio, which affected how he was heard in the debate hall.

While Trump suggested he would bring up Bill Clinton’s sexual history during the second debate, he told the New York Post’s Page Six that he isn’t planning to do that after all. That was, however, before the Trump tape emerged. Since then, Trump has already brought up Bill Clinton’s past twice -- “Bill Clinton has actually abused women,” he said of the former president in what was supposed to be a video apology for his own lewd words.

That vulgar tape has caused several Republican lawmakers to call for Trump to quit the presidential race, paving the way for Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, Trump’s running mate, to lead the GOP ticket. On Saturday, however, Trump remained defiant about staying in the race, tweeting out that “I WILL NEVER DROP OUT OF THE RACE, WILL NEVER LET MY SUPPORTERS DOWN!”

Clinton’s campaign condemned Trump’s 2005 comments, calling them “horrific,” but has not commented further on the controversy. According to her campaign, her first remarks on Trump and the tape are planned to be early in the debate Sunday night.

The debate also comes a few days after Hurricane Matthew affected millions along the southern part of the East Coast, including in key battleground state Florida.

Trump held his own town hall event on Thursday night in New Hampshire after his advisers urged him to practice for Sunday night.

Since the first debate, The New York Times published a report that showed he posted a $916 million loss in his 1995 tax returns they obtained, which means he could have avoided paying federal income taxes for up to 18 years. Trump has said that he can’t release his returns because he’s under audit, but that doesn’t bar someone from making them public. The Trump campaign has also not provided evidence that the GOP presidential nominee is currently under audit.

→ What: Second general election presidential debate

→ Where: Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri

→ When: 9 p.m. ET

→ On TV: CBS News, other broadcast/cable news channels

→ Online: CBSN, among many websites, will live-stream the event

→ CBSN will cover the debate beginning at 7 p.m. ET </s> LOS ANGELES — The first Democratic presidential debates of the 2020 campaign are taking place Wednesday and Thursday — July 26 and 27, 2019 — in Miami and will be telecast on NBC-affiliated broadcast and cable stations.

The debates, sanctioned by the Democratic National Committee and each featuring 10 candidates, will begin at 6 p.m. on both days and be televised by NBC, MSNBC and Telemundo. The debates will also be streamed by NBCNews.com, MSNBC.com, NBC News NOW, NoticiasTelemundo.com, and on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Under rules set by the DNC, candidates needed to either register 1% support in three qualified polls or have 65,000 unique donors to their campaign, with a minimum of 200 donors in at least 20 states, to qualify for the debate.

The 20 candidates who qualified were divided into two groups of 10 in a drawing Friday.

In an effort to avoid grouping lesser-known candidates together on one night and high-profile candidates on the other, candidates were divided into two groups — those who polled on average at or above 2% through June 12 and those who polled on average below 2% through midnight on Wednesday. A random draw then took place, to create two groupings of 10.

“The purpose of that is to be consistent with our principle of trying to be fair to everybody but also, it gets to the point of your question, so that we have maximum eyeballs both nights,” DNC chairman Tom Perez told MSNBC’s Hallie Jackson before the draw.

The candidates position on the stage at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami was determined by their standings in qualifying public polling through June 12.

Top polling candidates were placed at the center positions, with lower polling contenders being placed closer to the edges of the stage. Candidates who were tied in the polls were ranked based on the overall number of qualifying polls.

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke will be in the middle Wednesday.

Standing from left to right will be New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio; Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan; former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro; New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker; Warren; O’Rourke; Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar; Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard; Washington Gov. Jay Inslee; and former Maryland Rep. John Delaney.

This will be the first time more than one woman has been on stage for a presidential primary debate.

“NBC Nightly News” anchor Lester Holt, “Today” anchor Savannah Guthrie and “Noticias Telemundo” anchor Jose Diaz-Balart will moderate the first hour. Holt will also appear in the second hour, which “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd and MSNBC host Rachel Maddow will moderate.

Candidates will have 60 seconds to answer questions and 30 seconds to respond to follow-ups.

Democratic Party organizations and campaigns are also conducting viewing parties at five sites in Los Angeles County for Wednesday’s debate.

The 6 p.m. watch parties will be held at:

A second 10-candidate debate will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, with watch parties set for the following locations: </s> The field of Democrats hoping to face off against President Trump in the 2020 presidential election is, um, crowded—but of course, it’s also diverse and exciting. So far, more than *20* candidates have thrown their hats in the ring, and now we’re finally getting the chance to watch ’em duke it out on the debate stage. (From the comfort of your own couch, with a glass of wine in hand, obvi.) Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the first Democratic presidential candidates debate.

So, when and where is the debate taking place?

It’s all happening on Wednesday, June 26, and Thursday, June 27, from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. EST in Miami, Florida, at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts. Since there’s a crazy number of candidates in the running, the Democratic National Committee has decided—for the first time ever—to hold the debate over the course of two nights.

According to The New York Times, the lineups were “randomly decided” so that the top-tier candidates weren’t grouped together on a single night. However, some people aren’t convinced that the lineups were chosen at random, given that 4 out of the 5 top polling candidates are featured on night two. If you’re in that camp, don’t worry, there are 11 more debates to look forward to!

If you still have network television (or you’re currently kicking it at your parents’ house, no shame), you can catch the debates on NBC, Telemundo, or MSNBC. Luckily, you can also stream the debates for free through a ton of sites. Here are your options:

Cool, okay, so who’s debating who?

The first night of debates—Wednesday, June 26—will include the following qualifying candidates, in the order that they’ll be standing in onstage:

And here’s the lineup for night two (Thursday, June 27):

Gotcha. Anything else I need to know?

It hasn’t been confirmed which specific issues each candidate will be asked about, but we do know that every candidate will have 60 seconds to answer the question and then another 30 seconds to respond to any follow-up questions.

If you’re still unsure what each candidate is all about, check out the handy guide below: </s> This debate will be moderated by NBC news anchor Lester Holt for whom this will be the first time handling a presidential debate.

On Monday 9 pm (6 am IST), the two US presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, face off in their first debate. The US presidential debate is a tradition followed since 1960 to know the candidates off their campaign trails and convention halls.

This debate will be moderated by NBC news anchor Lester Holt for whom this will be the first time handling a presidential debate. The Presidential debate, which is televised across the country, takes place usually at a university with a large audience of over 1500 people. The first presidential debate of 2016 will take place at Hofstra University in New York.

This is one of the most anticipated events as the two candidates come with certain amount of baggage. There are scandals looming over both Clinton and Trump, weekly polls wavering in their predictions and back-and-forth negative campaigning.

The Republican candidate Donald Trump is known for his “showmanship”. The former TV show host has enraged the public since his announcement as candidate in 2015 by calling “Mexicans rapists and murderers”. But Trump has his fervent following as he won state after state before being somewhat reluctantly crowned as the Grand Old Party’s candidate. Trump’s claim that he’s an “outsider” (meaning someone not from the political circle of Washington DC) has been his biggest pitch working in his favour.

On the other hand, Clinton may make history by becoming the first female president of America. While Trump faces flak for his over-the-top appeal and harsh stand on immigration, what’s working against Hillary Clinton is another ball game altogether. Ghosts of her private email server during her time as secretary of state continue to haunt her. It is also one of the reasons why she’s rated “untrustworthy” by democrats.

How much of the debate will influence the voters? Will we get clarity from Trump on his policies? Will substance trump style?

If you are wondering why you’ve been hearing about the US elections, which will take place in November 2016, for more than a year now, here’s a quick lesson through the process involved.

US elections 101: How does the US elect its president?

The first-ever televised debate between John Kennedy and Richard Nixon was rated as the most-viewed TV programme then. Today, it will be televised, live-streamed, live-blogged (like this one) and live-tweeted. It may probably even be the highest-viewed programme ever and yes, that’s including Game of Thrones season finale. </s> WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the Democrats’ first 2020 presidential debates later this month (all times local): 12:45 p.m. NBC has announced how it will divvy up the 20 Democratic candidates for the first…

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the Democrats’ first 2020 presidential debates later this month (all times local):

NBC has announced how it will divvy up the 20 Democratic candidates for the first debate of the 2020 election campaign, which will be held over two nights in Miami later this month.

The lineup for the first two-hour session on June 26 features Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, Beto (BET’-oh) O’Rourke, Amy Klobuchar (KLOH’-buh-shar), Julián Castro, Bill de Blasio (dih BLAH’-zee-oh), John Delaney, Tulsi Gabbard, Tim Ryan and Jay Inslee.

The lineup for the next night features Bernie Sanders, Kamala (KAH’-mah-lah) Harris, Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg (BOO’-tuh-juhj), Michael Bennet, Marianne Williamson, Eric Swalwell, Kirsten Gillibrand (KEER’-sten JIHL’-uh-brand), Andrew Yang and John Hickenlooper.

The Democratic National Committee says it divided the candidates at random but ensured that contenders considered front-runners would not be stacked on one night to avoid the impression that one night was more important than the other.

The Democratic National Committee has announced that 20 candidates have qualified for the party’s first presidential debates later this month.

Montana Gov. Steve Bullock and U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts were the only major candidates out of the two dozen Democratic hopefuls who failed to meet the polling or grassroots fundraising measures required to get a debate spot.

Two lesser-known candidates, former Sen. Mike Gravel of Alaska and Miramar, Florida, Mayor Wayne Messam, also missed the cutoff, announced Thursday.

The campaign’s opening debates, set for June 26-27 in Miami, will offer a prime opportunity for many White House hopefuls to reshape a race defined in recent weeks by former Vice President Joe Biden’s domination of national and many early state polls.

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The first six-man televised debate is held, which focused mostly on social issues.