Question

What are the merits of electoral competition. Enlist them.

Answer 1

Hint:
In an ideal world, all political leaders know what is good for the people and are motivated only by a desire to serve them.
Our constitution makers opted for free competition in elections as the way to select our future leaders, because this system works better in the long run.

Complete answer:
Electoral competition
The degree to which challengers and minority parties are able to hold incumbents accountable by mounting credible campaigns–serves as a further indicator of the accessibility and responsiveness of a democratic system to the people. Incumbents at every level of government have historically enjoyed high reelection rates thanks to their ability to deliver valuable constituent services; high starting name identification; access to the media and other in-kind campaign resources; and ability to raise large campaign contributions from influence-seeking individuals and special interest groups.

Merits of electoral competition
(i) Regular electoral competition provides incentives to political parties and leaders. They know that if they raise issues that people want to be raised, their popularity and chances of victory will increase in the next elections. But if they fail to satisfy the voters with their work they will not be able to win again. So, if a political party is motivated only by desire to be in power, then it will be forced to serve the people.
(ii) Political competition may cause divisions and some ugliness, but it finally helps to force political parties and leaders to serve the people.
(iii)Margins of victory in state elections provide another important measure of democratic health, as persistent landslide victories for incumbents or political parties may suggest a lack of democratic accountability or partisan gerrymandering of districts.

Note:
Although low electoral competition does not necessarily signal a lack of representation, incumbent reelection rates that significantly exceed voter approval of their elected officials may indicate systemic bias towards status quo interests and a less open electoral system.