[Current Affairs] November 09,2020 Top Pakistan Current Affairs for PPSC Test Preparation

2. The wait is over

What’s going on? On Saturday morning, November 7, the Associated Press (AP) and multiple news networks projected that democratic candidate, former Vice President (VP) Joe Biden, is going to be the 46th President of the United States (US). His running mate, California Senator Kamala Harris, will be VP.

The details: Biden and Harris made history in their own way. President-elect Biden got 74 million+ votes, setting a new record for the most ever votes received in a US presidential election. VP-elect Harris achieved many firsts. She is going to be the first woman VP, first Black VP, first Black woman VP, first South Asian American VP, and first South Asian American woman VP (P.S. Harris is the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants).

Tell me more: Republican nominee, President Donald Trump, tweeted that he won the election. He is insisting the election was stolen from him, and is refusing to concede. He thinks many votes were “illegal and late.” He is also raising questions about how ballots were ‘authenticated.’ He said the election “is far from over,” and plans to fight it out in court. While addressing the lack of evidence to support his claims, President Trump wrote in all caps: “BAD THINGS HAPPENED WHICH OUR OBSERVERS WERE NOT ALLOWED TO SEE.”

The context: These election results were a real nail-biter. Election night started on November 3 and dragged on until Saturday. CNN and PBS NewsHour said it’s normal to not know the results of this year’s election yet, due to excess mail-in votes that are taking longer to count. Usually, news outlets call the race on election night. However, COVID-19 precautions resulted in a surge of mail-in votes and early voting. Also, some states can still count mail-in ballots that trickle in a few days after election day, if they are postmarked by election day.

Looking ahead: President Trump’s campaign is filing lawsuits that focus on transparency and access to observe vote counting (i.e. how far away a campaign observer can stand from officials).

Something to know: Official news networks only call an election race when they decide the candidate who is behind doesn’t have a realistic chance to win. News networks also factor in votes that still need to be counted. In other words, it came down to math in the end. The numbers appeared to be working against President Trump. The media always calls the presidential race before the results are officially certified. President Trump on the other hand, doesn’t understand why “the lamestream media” gets to call the next president.

The bottom line: Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan wrote a congratulatory tweet for President-elect Biden, and VP-elect Harris. He wrote about ending illegal tax havens, cracking down on corrupt leaders, and ensuring peace in both Afghanistan and the region.