The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has unveiled its Pre-Election Debate Series for Election 2012 with the organisation of three presidential debates high on the agenda.A major innovation to be introduced for the presidential debates ahead of the December 7 general elections is the focus of the third and final debate on women issues.The quadrennial Pre-Election Debate Series, which are exclusive to the four political parties with representation in Parliament, will also involve four evening encounters with the presidential aspirants and one vice-presidential debate.The IEA, in collaboration with the Ghana Political Parties Programme (GPPP), organisers of the programme, hopes to communicate the dates, times and venues of the Pre-Election Debate Series to the aspirants and the general public in due course, while seeking to constitute the Presidential Debate Committee to review the ground rules that will govern the debates and to solicit questions from the public.“Overall, we expect the debates to be vigorous and uncompromising but decent in tone”, a Policy Analyst of the IEA, Dr Michael Ofori-Mensah, stated at the launch of the programme in Accra.“The Pre-Election Debate Series is designed to increase accountability, introduce an issues-based approach to the election campaign process, and promote dialogue between presidential candidates on their policies and to enable the electorate to make an informed choice on candidates”, he said.This year’s IEA/GPPP Pre-Election Debate Series will be the fourth since 2000, and they are motivated by the commitment of the IEA to strengthen the pillars of Ghana’s democracy and to ensure a free, fair, peaceful and transparent election process.Dr Ofori-Mensah said democracy was truly exercised when the electorate was knowledgeable and informed about its options.He said the presidential debates provided a platform for the presidential candidates to present their vision to the nation and to discuss policies and programmes that they believed would best serve the national interest.“The debates will also enable candidates to point out the weaknesses in the policies of their co-contestants and present alternatives to those policies and programmes”, he said.On the vice-presidential debate, Dr Ofori-Mensah said it was important because the Vice-President of the Republic of Ghana was the second highest personality of the land.“The office holder is ‘a heartbeat away from the President’ and, as our constitution mandates, steps into the shoes of the President when the latter is unable to perform the functions of that office. He or she, therefore, has to demonstrate the qualities of a President”, he remarked.The Evening Encounter Series, which were initiated in 2008, differ from the presidential debates in that, while the presidential debates centre on interaction between the presidential candidates, the focus of the evening encounters is on the interaction between presidential candidates and the electorate.Dr Ofori-Mensah said the Evening Encounter Series would provide a platform and unique opportunity for each of the presidential candidates to share their vision of governance and strategies for development.