Question

What is the purpose of having competing political parties?

Answer 1

To express opinions, they do it so that one party does not have complete power over the other.

Answer 2

Political parties are meant to represent the will of the people. They generally have their own values and those values are supposed to be different from other parties. People are supposed to enter a party that is aligned with their personal values when they try to enter politics and they are also inclined to vote for candidates that are in parties that they feel represented by. By having more than one party, you can have many different points of views and values represented in a democracy.