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Elections are really the `dance of democracy. From campaigning, to the casting of votes,TV interviews and then finally the run up of results. It is the fodder on which news channel thrive. This holds true for India as well as the United States, two of world’s biggest democracies.
Currently, the big news for the `small screen’ across the world is definitely –The US Elections. Who will be the next President of America ? Will it be President Donald Trump or former Vice President Joe Biden? Who will be the President of the world’s most powerful democracy?
The Republican President is being challenged by Democratic Party nominee. Polling companies and media analysts on television across the world are trying to guage this. Geopolitically speaking, what repercussions will this have on the politics and relations of nations?
The constant tracking of votes is important here as the US uses the electoral college system. In 2016, Hillary Clinton led in the polls and won nearly three million more votes than Donald Trump, but she still lost – so here winning the most votes doesn’t always win you the election.
As of today, Democrat Joe Biden is leading the race. As per reports many South-Asian support group for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden have slammed President Donald Trump for tearing apart communities. While some strong Indian-American supporters of Trump have said that it united minority communities.
A few months ago many thought that Trumps’ bad management of the Coronavirus Pandemic would cost him his job. He wasted several weeks in announcing the lockdown and making wearing of masks compulsory.
As per a wire agency Coronavirus cases in the United States surged by at least 120,276 on Thursday. US cases have risen by over 100,000 for three out of the last seven days, putting pressure on hospitals in several states and causing families to rethink their plans for Thanksgiving dinner on Nov. 26
Yet despite the Pandemic, the US presidential election has recorded the highest voter turnout in 120 years, a prominent electoral expert has said. According to preliminary estimates of the US Election project, a nonpartisan site that tracks voting, an estimated 239 million people were eligible to vote this year, of which nearly 160 million exercised their right to franchise. The figure is likely to be updated in the coming weeks. The November 3 election saw a record voter turnout of 66.9 per cent, which is the highest turnout rate since 1900.
Two days after the presidential election, Biden is nearing the magical figure of 270 electoral votes to win the race to the White House, with the former US vice president bagging 253 votes compared to 213 won by Trump, according to latest US media projections. The results in six states Georgia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Arizona, Alaska and Nevada are yet to be declared.
To put it in Joe Biden’s words, “Democracy is sometimes messy and requires a little patience.” Biden also urged Americans to stay calm and wait patiently while every vote is being counted.
Biden needs just six electoral college votes to reach the magic figure of 270 and win the race to the White House, while President Donald Trump has 214 electoral college votes. “In America, the vote is sacred. It’s how the people of this nation express their will. And it is the will of the voters, no one and not anything else that chooses the President of the United States. So, each ballot must be counted and that’s what is going on now. And that’s how it should be, Biden said in his address to the media in Delaware on Thursday.
We are waiting with a bated breath !
is India’s government different from the United States?
The basic difference between the governments of India and the US is that the Indian government is a parliamentary model whereas the USA has a presidential system.
What is the difference between the union of states and federation of states?
In a Union of States like India, there is a strong centre and power is shared between the centre and the states. India is described as a union of states in the Constitution. This is because India was formed as a result of princely states joining the union (which was British India). In contrast, the USA was formed as a result of the initial 13 colonies coming together to form the union. This is more like a bottom-up approach.
Is the USA a federal country?
Yes, it is a federal country. Every state in the USA has its own constitution as well.
Who elects the president of India?
The president of India is elected by an electoral college comprising of MPs of both Houses, and the MLAs of the legislative assemblies of all the states and UTs.
