LIVE | 'I campaigned as a Democrat, but I will govern as an American president': Biden

November 05 2020 - 22:16

TIMELINE: Which states could tip US election and when will they report results?

The outcome of the US presidential election hung in the balance on Thursday as five swing states continued to count their ballots.

To capture the White House, a candidate must amass at least 270 votes in the Electoral College.

Edison Research gave Democratic challenger Biden a 243 against 213 lead over Republican President Donald Trump in Electoral College votes. Other networks said Biden had won Wisconsin, which would give him another 10 votes.

November 05 2020 - 21:55

'I campaigned as a Democrat, but I will govern as an American president': Biden

November 05 2020 - 21:22

Trump campaign loses lawsuit seeking to halt Michigan vote count

A judge in Michigan has tossed out a lawsuit brought by US President Donald Trump's campaign in hopes of halting vote-counting in the battleground state.

Trump's Democratic challenger Joe Biden is the projected winner in Michigan, which Trump, a Republican, carried in 2016.

Michigan Court of Claims Judge Cynthia Stephens made the ruling during a court hearing on Thursday. She said she planned to issue a written ruling on Friday.

"I have no basis to find that there is a substantial likelihood of success on the merits," Stephens said.

Campaign officials for Trump have said they filed the suit to stop the counting in Michigan and gain greater access to the tabulation process.

The lawsuit was a "messaging exercise," said Bob Bauer, senior advisor on Biden's campaign.

"It has no other purpose than to confuse the public about what's taking place and to support their baseless claims of irregularity," Bauer said in a call with reporters.

Nationally, Biden inched closer to victory on Thursday in an exceedingly close US election hinging on razor-thin margins in a handful of states.

Trump has launched a flurry of lawsuits across the country.In another setback for Trump on Thursday, a judge in Georgia denied a request by his campaign for an order requiring Chatham County to separate and secure late-arriving ballots to ensure they are not counted.

A Trump campaign spokeswoman did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the Georgia and Michigan rulings. 

Reuters

November 05 2020 - 21:26

November 05 2020 - 20:18

Trump campaign to escalate legal fight with Nevada lawsuit

President Donald Trump's campaign said it would ramp up legal efforts to challenge vote counts in closely-contested states in the US election on Thursday, and said it would file a lawsuit alleging voter fraud in Nevada, which is still counting ballots.

In Las Vegas, Trump allies alleged, without evidence, that there had been voting irregularities in populous Clark County, which includes the city.

Democratic challenger Joe Biden has a small lead in Nevada."We believe that there are dead voters that have been counted. We are also confident that there are thousands of people whose votes have been counted that have moved out of Clark County during the pandemic," former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt, a Republican, told reporters.

Reuters

November 05 2020 - 19:49

November 05 2020 - 19:28

November 05 2020 - 19:07

Ballot counting in Philadelphia temporarily halted -MSNBC

The counting of mail-in ballots in Philadelphia has been temporarily halted as Democrats ask the state's top court to reverse a lower court ruling on ballot count observers, MSNBC reported. 

Reuters

Novembe 05 2020 - 18:56

November 05 2020 - 18:25

In cities across US, dueling protests sprout up as vote-counting drags on

A second day of sometimes dueling demonstrations over the integrity of the US presidential election started early on Thursday in Philadelphia and other cities as ballot counting dragged on in a handful of states that would decide the outcome.

Some groups, mainly Democrats, rallied around the slogan to "count every vote," believing a complete tally would show former Vice President Joe Biden had beaten Republican President Donald Trump.

Ardent Trump supporters countered with cries to "protect the vote" in support of his campaign's efforts to have some categories of ballots, including some votes submitted by mail, discarded.

Both factions appeared outside a vote-counting center in Philadelphia on Thursday morning. A group of Trump supporters holding Trump-Pence flags and signs saying "vote stops on Election Day" gathered across the street from Biden supporters who danced to music behind a barricade. 

Reuters

November 05 2020 - 18:22

'Big legal win in Pennsylvania': Trump

November 05 2020 - 17:34

Mexican peso hits 8-month high as Biden leads in tight election race

Mexico's peso touched its highest level in nearly eight months against a weakening dollar on Thursday, while emerging market stocks hit multi-year highs as Democratic candidate Joe Biden maintained a narrow lead in a tight US election race.

The peso rose for the third straight day, jumping over 1% with a Biden victory seen as positive for the currency, which has suffered from President Donald Trump's hard line on trade in recent years.

The election race is coming down to close contests in five states with Biden narrowly ahead of Trump in some key battleground states, as mail-in and absentee votes were being counted.

November 05 2020 - 16:55

Biden wants every vote counted, but Trump wants the counting to stop

November 05 2020 - 15:49

US presidential election moves to the courts

With the US presidential election between Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden too close to call, the Trump campaign and Republicans turned to the courts to try to invalidate votes in Pennsylvania and block Michigan officials from counting ballots.

November 05 2020 - 15:14

'Trump doesn't decide this election' — 7 quotes from Joe Biden as he edges closer to US presidency

As he edges closer to the US presidency, Democrat Joe Biden has called for unity and patience, saying neither he nor his rival Donald Trump can decide the outcome of the election.

Biden has taken to Twitter, a popular platform for his rival, over the last 24 hours to send messages of encouragement to his supporters and urge them to “keep the faith”.

Biden is currently leading the race for the White House, with 270 votes needed in the state-by-state electoral college to win the elections.

November 05 2020 - 14:29

POLL | Trump vs Biden: Should SA really care who wins the US elections?

As Americans edge closer to finding out who their president will be for the next four years, millions around the globe have their eyes glued to social media and news reports as they await the results.

But is this election relevant to South Africans - and should we even care?

This is the question asked frequently on social media over the last 24 hours, especially after transport minister Fikile Mbalula predicted that Republican President Donald Trump will win against former deputy president and Democrat challenger Joe Biden.

As the US presidential race draws to a close, the world is waiting with bated breath to see who will emerge as the winner.

Early indications point to Joe Biden, the Republican candidate, inching closer to the 270 Senate seats needed for him to be the new president of the US.

However, Donald Trump is reported to have prematurely claimed victory, vowing to stop the counting of the remaining votes. Many fear that Trump will challenge the results should they not be in his favour.

November 05 2020 - 12:50

Futures jump as potential Washington gridlock signals less regulatory risk

U.S. stock futures jumped on Thursday on bets that a potential gridlock in Washington could reduce the chance of major policy changes that would hurt corporate America, although concerns remained about the risk of a contested presidential election.

-Reuters  

November 05 2020 - 11:24

'Count every vote' protesters take to streets in narrow US presidential race

November 05 2020 - 11:09

Kremlin says lack of clarity at US election could have bad impact on global economy

The Kremlin said on Thursday that the lack of clarity after the November 3  US presidential election so far could have a negative impact on the global economy and world at large, but declined to comment further.

Democrat Joe Biden moved closer to victory in the US presidential race on Thursday as election officials tallied votes in the handful of states that will determine the outcome and protesters took to the streets.

-Reuters  

November 05 2020 - 10:24

Biden edges closer to White House win as Trump mounts legal challenge

With tensions rising, about 200 of Trump's supporters, some armed with rifles and handguns, gathered outside an election office in Phoenix, Arizona, following unsubstantiated rumors that votes were not being counted.

November 05 2020 - 10:10

Oil down more than 1% as markets whipsawed by US election uncertainty

Oil dropped on Thursday as Democrat Joe Biden edged closer to the White House in a nail-biting US presidential election, but the Republicans look likely to retain Senate control, decreasing the chances of any huge Covid-19 relief package.

US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 60 cents, or 1.53%, to $38.55 a barrel at 0756 GMT, while Brent crude futures fell 64 cents, or 1.55%, to $40.59 a barrel.

November 05 2020 - 09:50

Joe Biden: 'I'm not here to declare we won'

November 05 2020 - 09:21

Police arrest 10 in Portland, 50 in New York on night after US vote

Portland Police said it arrested ten people in the demonstrations after declaring riots in the city's downtown area while the New York Police Department (NYPD) said it made about 50 arrests in protests that spread in the city late on Wednesday.

"All of the gatherings that were declared riots were downtown. We have made 10 arrests", a Portland Police spokesman told Reuters in an emailed statement.

November 05 2020 - 09:00

November 05 2020 - 09:00

The Electoral College, explained

The United States Electoral College is a name used to describe the official 538 Presidential electors who come together every four years during the presidential election to give their official votes for President and Vice President of the United States

November 05 2020 - 08:32

The Democratic Governor of Pennsylvania said he would "fight like hell" to make sure every vote in his state was counted.

It comes as 20 electoral college votes are at play in the US Presidential Election 2020 with Donald Trump taking a narrow lead.

The Trump administration has brought legal action against the state to prevent more votes being counted.

November 05 2020 - 08:21

From 'certain victory' to crying 'fraud' - Five Donald Trump Twitter rants during the US elections

Trump's Twitter timeline has been flooded with rants and accusations of fraud and violation of America's democracy since the polls closed on Tuesday.

November 05 2020 - 07:58

Biden predicts a win, promises to unite as Trump goes to court

Democrat Joe Biden on Wednesday predicted victory over President Donald Trump after winning two critical US states, while the Republican incumbent alleged fraud, filed lawsuits and demanded recounts in a race yet to be decided a day after polls closed.

November 05 2020 - 07:31

Social networks fail to corral Trump's misinformation about US vote count

As US President Donald Trump and his allies flooded social media on Wednesday with false claims of victory and unsupported allegations of voter fraud, social media companies warned users the presidential election had yet to be decided.

The posts on Twitter, Facebook and other sites are imposing a real-time test of Silicon Valley's much-touted rules on handling election misinformation and premature claims of victory.

But it is not clear whether the disclaimers and fact-checks, which often occur well after posts have been shared tens of thousands of times, are curbing the circulation of baseless claims. And in the case of Facebook, staff rewrote some of their rules on the fly.

November 05 2020 - 07:25

November 05 2020 - 07:22

Asian stocks, FX march higher as Biden edges closer to the White House

Stocks and currencies in Asia's emerging markets firmed across the board on Thursday as Democrat Joe Biden pulled ahead of Republican rival Donald Trump and was within striking distance of securing a nail-biting US presidential election.

Biden is widely seen as likely to be less combative on trade policy and in relations with the region's growth engine China, and investors hope that may clear the way for Asia's stronger recovery from the coronavirus crisis to draw more investment.

In the short-term, however, analysts said a retreat for the dollar was the bigger driver for the region's currencies, with the Indonesian rupiah and Taiwan's dollar up 1% and 1.5% respectively.

China's yuan was marginally higher, while the South Korean won, like Taiwan highly sensitive to any easing of tensions in global trade relations, gained around 0.6%.

Elsewhere in major emerging markets, the Mexican peso and Brazilian real, among the losers during Trump's time in the White House, both surged overnight.

"A Biden victory is unlikely to result in a major change in US foreign policy short-term so more important is the direction of the dollar, with a weaker dollar more supportive of Asia & emerging market equities," Andrew Gillan, Head of Asia ex Japan equities, Janus Henderson Investors, Singapore said. Biden late on Wednesday predicted victory over Trump after pivotal wins in Michigan and Wisconsin, while the Republican incumbent sought to offset a narrowing path to re-election with lawsuits and demands for a recount.

Betting sites, often closely watched by financial market players, now lean heavily towards Biden, although investors continue to worry about the potential for weeks of court battles that will delay any further fiscal support for a US economy struggling with the novel coronavirus.

-Reuters

November 05 2020 - 06:39

'Trump is a crybaby — he must accept defeat': Julius Malema weighs in on US elections

EFF leader Julius Malema has weighed in on the US elections, saying President Donald Trump must accept defeat and not try to hinder the process.

Malema shared his views on the US elections during a “special visit” to Pharmacy Direct on Wednesday.

He said if first-world countries were complaining about alleged electoral fraud and vote-rigging, global democracy was in danger.