Page "Two-round system" Paragraph 55

Runoff voting is also vulnerable to another tactic called " push over ".

This is a tactic by which voters vote tactically for an unpopular " push over " candidate in the first round as a way of helping their true favourite candidate win in the second round.

The purpose of voting for the " push over ", in theory, is to ensure that it is this weak candidate, rather than a stronger rival, who survives to challenge a one's preferred candidate in the second round.

But in practice, such a tactic may prove counter-productive.

If so many voters give their first preferences to the " weak " candidate that it ends up winning the first round, it is highly likely they will gain enough campaign momentum to have a strong chance of winning the runoff, too, and with it, the election.

At the very least, their opponent would have to start taking the so-called " weak " candidate seriously, particularly if the runoff follows quickly after the first round.