America’s midterm elections are approaching. But what exactly are “midterm elections”? Many of us are unfamiliar with the term. These elections take place as the terms of members of Congress, senators and local government representatives come to an end, allowing voters to elect their representatives afresh.

It would be wrong to assume that dirty electoral politics exists only in Bangladesh. It happens here too, sometimes to an even greater extent. Being an immigrant, Black or Muslim can, at times, become a political liability.

Barack Obama experienced this as well. During election campaigning, claims were made that he had not been born in the United States and was a Kenyan citizen. Yet a person cannot run for president without having been born in this country; being a natural-born citizen is a mandatory requirement for presidential eligibility. Obama subsequently had to disclose details of his birthplace and the hospital where he was born, along with his birth certificate, to establish that he had indeed been born in the United States.

There have also been reports of attempts to push Senate candidates out of electoral contests by labelling them “Muslim”. After elections, and even after being elected president, most elected presidents have had to appear in court over allegations of sexual harassment. Some have also been accused of violating their oath of office.

Returning to the midterm elections, the central contest is over who will control Congress, the country’s legislature. The United States Congress has two chambers: the House of Representatives and the Senate. The struggle to secure a majority in these two chambers lies at the heart of the midterm elections.

The governing Republican Party is not in a particularly strong position ahead of this November’s elections. Conflict in the Middle East, the Iran–United States war, the Houthi issue in Yemen, the Russia–Ukraine conflict, rising consumer prices and higher oil and gas costs have, together, left Americans deeply frustrated beneath the surface.

For now, the Democrats appear to have strengthened their position in the contest for the lower chamber. If they ultimately secure a majority, President Trump will find it difficult to get legislation passed as he wishes over the next two years. Without Democratic agreement, he will be unable to advance his legislative agenda.

Bangladesh, too, should have strong upper and lower chambers to maintain a balance of power, so that the government cannot simply pass laws or make decisions unilaterally. In political terms, this is known as “checks and balances”: a system of mutual oversight and limits on the exercise of power.