Length, Format Established for Presidential Debates

Negotiators for Republican nominee George Bush and Democratic nominee Michael S. Dukakis have agreed on the length and format of the presidential debates between the two, a spokeswoman for the Dukakis campaign said Sunday.

The debates, scheduled for Sept. 25 in Winston-Salem, N.C., and Oct. 13 or 14 in Los Angeles, each will last 90 minutes and feature one moderator and a panel of three questioners, said Lorraine Voles, the Dukakis spokeswoman.

The two sides, who worked out an agreement on the format and length by telephone Saturday, failed to resolve the question of whether the candidates will sit or stand during the debates. The Dukakis campaign would prefer to have the candidates stand, whereas the Bush campaign wants them to sit.

Talks to Continue

Negotiators will continue discussions on the subject this week, Voles said.

Dukakis campaign chairman Paul P. Brountas and adviser Thomas Donilon, and Bush campaign chairman James A. Baker III and media adviser Roger Ailes also agreed that the candidates will make closing statements instead of opening statements and that the candidates will be allowed to take notes. However, Bush and Dukakis will not be able to bring prepared notes to the debates.

The two sides also agreed to allow the campaigns to use footage from the debates in television commercials but the material cannot be used out of context, Voles said.