NEW YORK, Nov 3: An army of global journalists is descending on the United States to cover Election Day, Nov 4, in a reflection of unprecedented worldwide interest in the American presidential election.

“Our audience’s interest in the US presidential election this time is definitely much higher than the last time four years ago,” said Keiko Matsuyama, who is coordinating an 11-member team for Japan’s TV Asahi’s US vote coverage.

“Our viewers as well as we reporters are interested in the rise of the first African-American US president. Also, interest is mounting about US policies to address the financial crisis,” she said.

TV Asahi, one of Japan’s private broadcasters, said it would begin live coverage of the results from 10:30am Japan time (0130 GMT) on Nov 5.

Democrat Barack Obama’s campaign has accredited 1,500 journalists for an Election Night event at campaign headquarters in Chicago, home base of the 47-year-old Illinois senator seeking to become America’s first black president.

“There has been a huge interest in Africa,” said Constance Ikokwu, Washington correspondent from the leading newspaper This Day, in Nigeria.

“There is an emotional attachment between Africans and Senator Obama,” she said. Due to media fascination with the most prominent African-American candidate to date, as well as polls that show Obama leading his Republican rival John McCain, more journalists have chosen to base themselves in Chicago than in Phoenix, Arizona, where McCain serves as senator.

“I don’t think we have ever seen media interest in a US presidential election this high,” said Keith Peterson, Media Relations Officer at the State Department’s Washington Foreign Press Center.—AFP