It is something that is common in the Indian context, but considered a bit of an aberration in the US “ third-party candidates. In a multi-party democracy like India the presence of several candidates and political parties adds more colour to the chaos we call elections. Political pundits make elaborate calculations to ascertain how one candidate could damage another while the voters yearn for the simplicity of a two-party system.
At the last presidential elections in the US, third-party candidates were considered insignificant, but not this time. Jill Stein of the Green Party, Gary Johnson, the nominee of the Libertarians and Evan McMullin don’t have a hope of making it to the White House, but they could collectively or separately ruin Hillary Clinton’s chance and hand Donald Trump a victory that half of American would rather die than see it become a reality. President Barack Obama has said that a vote for third-party candidates is a vote for Trump. Clinton, also mindful of the damage that Stein and Johnson can cause to her campaign, echoes this premise.
This is one of those rare elections were one candidate “ Donald Trump, is seen as a walking, talking disaster and the other “ Hillary Clinton is viewed with a great deal of suspicion. Americans have been told to choose between a loud-mouthed groper and an untrustworthy former secretary of state. The effect is that a lot of voters are actually considering third-party candidates as a choice. That’s how frustrated and desperate the US is, with a month still to go before polling.
Third-party candidates are prevented from participating in debates between the main candidates so it is difficult to say how they rank on issues. Stein plans to close 700 military bases and make America run on renewable fuel. Johnson, who did not know where Aleppo was, but wants to slash spending on Medicare and Medicaid, could draw some of Bernie Sanders’ supporters to his side, especially those who believe Clinton is untrustworthy.
The presence of the these third-party candidates and the peculiar conditions of the presidential race where both the chief candidates lack credibility, could dent Clinton’s chances provided Trump can claw back from the groping and anti-women controversies. Political pundits argue that in 2000, the 97,000 votes polled by Ralph Nader in Florida probably cost Al Gore the elections. In 1992, independent candidate Ross Perot won 19 per cent of the vote and damaged George H W Bush more than Bill Clinton in some of the states.
It is difficult to predict who will be hurt most by the presence of third-party candidates, but it appears the Democrats are more worried than Trump, because the general feeling is that in a close contest they just might damage Hillary Clinton’s chances of becoming the first woman president of the United States.
