The first in a series of Election 2012 Presidential Debate is slated for Tuesday, October 30th at the Radach Hotel Tamale, the Institute of Economic Affairs stated in a statement to the Ghana News Agency in Accra. The Debates will take the form of a policy dialogue engagement at which the Presidential Candidates will present their viewpoints, plans and programmes to the electorates. The platform would also be used to point out weaknesses in the policies of their co-contestants and present alternatives to those policies and programmes. The electorate on the other hand will receive first hand information on the programmes and plans of each candidate. In accordance with electoral arrangement, the Presidential Candidates will be arranged according to their position on the ballot paper, with President John Dramani Mahama of the National Democratic Congress leading, whilst Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo takes the rear. The two main contenders would sandwich the Presidential Candidates of the Convention Peoples Party, Dr Michael Abu Sakara Foster and People's National Convention’s Mr Hassan Ayariga in between. According to the IEA the Debates will enable the electorate to make an informed choice on Election Day and it serve as efforts to consolidate multiparty democracy and promote issue based elections in Ghana. The 2012 Presidential Debate will provide a common platform for the Presidential Candidates to answer questions on various aspects of the nation’s development process. According to the IEA, the first Presidential Debate will be based on questions received from the following thematic areas; Economy, National Development Plan, Job Creation/Employment, Economic Growth, and National Debt. On the social sector, the question will focus on Socio-Economic Infrastructure (including ICT), Education, Health, Water/ Sanitation, Food Security, Housing, Electricity and Power. The rest of the question will seek answers on the private sector development, industrialization, and foreign policy. The IEA Election 2012 Presidential Debate is being sponsored by StarGhana .