Africa watches as US election on a knife-edge and Trump cries foul

The US election has been plunged into chaos after President Donald Trump claimed victory with millions of votes still to be counted while challenger Joe Biden pushed for victory in a string of crucial battleground states. 

By early morning on the east coast, the national result was still too close to call, with a string of vital states in the Midwest – including crucial Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin – yet to declare and little certainty over the timing of the count. Trump declared victory after securing the Republican heartlands of Texas and Florida but the Democrats are hopeful of their chances in traditionally Republican Arizona and appear on the verge of victory in Wisconsin. 

Despite the absence of a decisive victor, both candidates forcefully made their cases to their supporters, with Trump claiming he has “already won it” and Biden insisting “we’re on track to win this election”. 

In an uncompromising speech to supporters and family at the White House, Trump said that “a very sad group of people is trying to disenfranchise that group of people (Trump supporters) and we won’t stand for it, we will not stand for it.” 

He insisted that he had won Georgia and North Carolina – which are still being counted – and claimed that he is winning Pennsylvania by a “tremendous amount of votes”. He denied that Arizona, a crucial target for Democrats, was lost.

“This is a fraud on the American public, this is an embarrassment to our country…We’ll be going to the US Supreme Court.” 

“We will win this and as far as I’m concerned we already have won it.” 

In a speech to his supporters in Delaware, Biden counselled patience and insisted that he is on track to win. 

“We knew this was gonna go long, but who knew that we’re going to go into maybe tomorrow morning and maybe even longer. But look, we feel good about where we are, we really do. I’m here to tell you tonight we believe we’re on track to win this election.” 

The central controversy is the issue of mail-in ballots. It was estimated that up to 100m Americans had voted prior to Election Day, but the President has long attempted to cast doubt on the legitimacy of absentee votes. 

Africa watches

The contested poll in the world’s most powerful economy is being eagerly watched in Africa, which in recent weeks has played host to controversial polls in Tanzania and Côte d’Ivoire. Since assuming the presidency, Trump’s administration has seen the continent as a battleground in its contest with China and has repeatedly lashed out at Beijing’s political and commercial influence in African states.

In December 2018, Trump’s then national security advisor John Bolton articulated the administration’s Africa strategy, which he said would “put the interests of the American people first, at home and abroad” by boosting US trade and commercial ties on the continent, reprioritising aid, and thwarting the African ambitions of a “predatory” China.   

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