ELECTION night in America was eerily reminiscent of election night in Pakistan. The too-close-to-call contest between Republican candidate President Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Joe Biden is still not over, but the run-up to the verdict contains the same chaos, uncertainty and anxiety that rule our elections as well as polls held in countries where democracy is a relatively new concept.
Mr Trump’s realisation that key Republican states were slipping away and turning blue triggered an outburst on social media, where in a flurry of provocative tweets he alleged electoral fraud, saying that deliberate attempts were being made to ‘steal’ the election from him. In one dramatic tweet, he “hereby claim[ed] victory in the battleground state of Michigan where projections from major news networks suggested Mr Biden had won — a post among others by Mr Trump that Twitter repeatedly flagged for violating its ‘civic integrity policy’ which maintains that the platform cannot be manipulated for interfering in elections.
As if it were not surreal enough that the social media platform was checking the incumbent president of the United States mid-election, Mr Trump’s posts encouraged his supporters in some states to gather at polling centres to try and stop the vote-count process. In some places, stores boarded up their windows to brace for a wave of post-verdict violence.
Read: Did social media actually counter US election misinformation?
That these scenes are unfolding in America as it makes a crucial decision regarding its — and the world’s — future speaks volumes for the state of American democracy. Mr Trump’s presidency and re-election bid have exposed the fault lines in the American electoral system and shown how one individual can fan the flames of division and take an already polarised society to the edge.
Read: Trump erupts as Biden closes in on US presidency
The race — regardless of who wins — has held up a mirror to how divided the American people are. The two candidates are still neck and neck in some key states, with Team Biden dependent on the exhilaratingly close contest in Nevada where, at the time of writing, six electoral college votes could decide the future of the presidency. Regardless of whichever one scrapes through, it is evident that this election has split the country, with 72m voting one way and 68m the other.
If there is a silver lining to all this, it is that American citizens have turned out in record numbers to cast their vote. While a winner is still undetermined and the weeks ahead could see legal battles and an escalation of tensions over vote count, it is heartening that millions have exercised their right to vote because of an inherent belief in democracy. Still, the pall of uncertainty that hangs over the election begs a reflection of how America — a centuries-old democracy that has lectured many a developing nation on democratic processes — came to be in such a fragile position.
Published in Dawn, November 6th, 2020
