Dr. Md. Shairul Mashreque :
US Presidential election is drawing near. The election not only concerns the American. The whole world evinces a keen interest in it. For a number of reasons US Presidential elections bear global significance. US with its strong arm like Pentagon has turned out to be the most dominant super power dictitating terms and conditions after the end of cold war. It holds the key position in military might and international market in a seemingly unipolar world. Even the countries termed as big power are in the leading strings of USA. Against this background the study of US Presidential election is so significant
‘State and local governments run the primary elections, while caucuses are private events that are directly run by the political parties themselves. A state’s primary election or caucus is usually an indirect election instead of voters directly selecting a particular person running for President, they determine the number of delegates each party’s national convention will receive from their respective state. These delegates then in turn select their party’s presidential nominee. Each party determines how many delegates it allocates to each state. Along with those “pledged” delegates chosen during the primaries and caucuses, state delegations to both the Democratic and Republican conventions also include unpleaged delegates who have a vote. For Republicans, they consist of the three top party officials who serve At Large from each state and territory. Democrats have a more expansive group of unpledged delegates called “super delegates “, who are party leaders and elected officials (PLEO). If no single candidate has secured an absolute majority of delegates (including both pledged and unpledged), then a ” brokered convention occurs: all pledged delegates are “released” after the first round of voting and are able to switch their allegiance to a different candidate, and then additional rounds take place until there is a winner with an absolute majority. The staggered nature of the presidential primary season allows candidates to concentrate their resources in each area of the country one at a time instead of campaigning in every state simultaneously. In some of the less populous states, this allows campaigning to take place on a much more personal scale. However, the overall results of the primary season may not be representative of the U.S. electorate as a whole: voters in Iowa, New Hampshire and other less populous states which traditionally hold their primaries and caucuses in late-January/February usually have a major impact on the races, while voters in California and other large states which traditionally hold their primaries in June generally end up having no say because the races are usually over by then. As a result, more states vie for earlier primaries, known as “front-loading”, to claim a greater influence in the process. The national parties have used penalties and awarded bonus delegates in efforts to stagger the system over broadly a 90-day window. Where state legislatures set the primary or caucus date, sometimes the out-party in that state has endured penalties in the number of delegates it can send to the national convention.’
State of New York: Democrat Hillary Clinton and her Republican rival Donald Trump took the stage on for their crucial first presidential debate, in what could be the most watched US political event in years.
According to latest news,
“Sparring over plans for US economy, Clinton accused Trump of peddling “trumped up trickle down” economics in the opening minutes of their first presidential debate, setting a combative tone as the candidates clashed over how to increase US jobs.
Trump gave a classic answer about China and Mexico stealing American business and jobs. He also had his first point of agreement, his unexpected (for the GOP) child leave plan: “I think Hillary and I agree on that, we probably disagree a little bit as it relates to numbers and amounts,” he said.
“We have to stop our jobs from being stolen from us, we have to stop companies from leaving the United States,” he added.
As the pair tangled over trade, taxes and government regulations in the opening salvos of the 90-minute debate Clinton said, “I know you live in your own reality, but those are not the facts.”
Clinton and Donald Trump traded blows on the debate stage Monday over the Democrat`s use of a private email server as secretary of state, and the Republican billionaire`s refusal to release his tax history.
“I will release my tax returns against my lawyer`s wishes when she releases her 33,000 e-mails that have been deleted,” Trump said when pressed on the issue during their crucial first White House debate.
“I have no reason to believe that he`s ever going to release his tax returns, because there`s something he`s hiding,” Clinton fired back.
Clinton accused her Republican White House rival of launching his political career by supporting a “racist” theory that questioned Barack Obama`s citizenship.
“He tried to put the whole racist `birther` lie to bed,” adding, “”But it can`t be dismissed that easily. He has really started his political activity based on this racist lie that our first black president was not an American citizen,” the Democrat said. Trump went on to blame Clinton for the the rise of the Islamic State by noting the Democrat had laid out some of her plans on her website.
“You’re telling the enemy everything you want to do,” Trump said as Clinton shook her head in amusement. “No wonder you’ve been fighting IS your entire adult life.”
Trump said the country needed law and order. “African Americans and Hispanics are living in hell because it’s so dangerous. You walk down the street you get shot,” he added.
Clinton has called for restricted gun control in the US, saying “We’ve got too many military-style weapons on the streets. In a lot of places, our police are outgunned … we need to keep guns out of the hands of those who’d do harm.”
Hillary Clinton was declared winner in public debate which may fetch a long way to influence the voters including the votes in the Electoral College and popular votes.
Dr. Mashreque teachers Public administration in Chittagong Uiversity
