Rwanda has congratulated U.S President-elect Joe Biden and VP-elect Kamala Harris upon their election. File Photo.
President Paul Kagame on Sunday joined global leaders to congratulate the U.S President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on their historical victory.
Biden, 78, pipped incumbent Donald Trump in one of the U.S most competitive elections, garnering 50.6 percent of the total votes cast, equivalent to 75,198,127 -the highest number of votes to be received by any U.S Presidential candidate, giving him 290 electoral college votes, compared to Trump’s 214.
Kamala Harris on the other hand became the first female Vice President in the history of America, and the first the first Black person and the first person of South Asian descent to be elected to the second most coveted position in U.S politics.
“President Kagame and the Government of Rwanda have congratulated U.S. President-elect @JoeBiden and Vice President-elect @KamalaHarris upon their victory,”
“We look forward to building on the strong partnership between our countries,” the President’s Office tweeted on Sunday.
Democrat Biden becomes the 46th U.S President, set to take office from Trump in January, despite the incumbent vowing to go to court over what he called election irregularities in a series of tweets which have been flagged by Twitter, claiming that he won the election if legal votes are counted.
President Trump managed to get 70,804,457 votes or 47.7 percent, falling short on both the popular vote and electoral college votes, meaning that he will exit the White House after just one term in office.
By press time, the highly divisive Trump, through Twitter, was still lamenting about ‘election problems’ but observers say that it is as good as over for the 74-year old who is unlikely to concede defeat in the coming days.
In a victory speech on Saturday night in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, President-elect Biden said that he was humbled by the trust America had placed in him and reached out to those Americans who did not vote for him.
“I understand the disappointment tonight. I’ve lost a couple of times myself. But now, let’s give each other a chance,” Biden said, adding that “This is the time to heal in America.”
The election of the duo is seen by many as a victory for Americans who took the country back from the highly divisive and explosive 4 years of Trump at the helm.
Biden said that he will not be a President for only Democrats but rather all Americans, vowing to embark on efforts immediately to combat the New Coronavirus pandemic and undo some of the controversial policies and decisions Trump made during his time in office.
California Senator. Kamala Harris, who was Biden’s running mate, highlighted the significance of her election, thanking all the women who were there before her, fighting for that milestone to happen.
“While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last, because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities,” Harris said.
Celebrations erupted in different cities across the U.S with thousands of Biden supporters hit the streets to celebrate the victory. Few Trump supporters’ challenging election results quickly vanished off the streets as they were overwhelmed by victory celebrations.
Biden, who turns 78 at the end of November, will become the oldest President upon inauguration in January. He will take over a nation ravaged by COVID-19 and a faltering economic situation but the former Vice President has vowed to restore normalcy and embark on an ambitious plan to restore the country to its former status which deteriorated under Trump.
