The USA went into polling on November 3, 2020, and the election result was projected by Associated Press on 7th November night IST. During these 4 days, people across the world were glued to their screens with growing uncertainty of when the result would be declared and who would be the next leader of the USA. On 7th November owing to the win in Pennsylvania, Joe Biden swept the polls, which took him above the 270 mark.

The campaign has been bitter, with divided opinions and personal spat among the candidates, which was evident in the rallies and the debates. However, with the announcement of the results, people came out in streets, a section of them to rejoice the results, whereas, a section to protest and in support of the Republican candidate Donald J Trump.

Why was the race a win for the USA?

1. Better social welfare policies in terms of higher government spending on healthcare, education and social security along with reduced military spending.
2. Believes in providing quality reproductive services, safe and legal abortion.
3. Inclusiveness and support to the various communities such as LGBTQ+ and same-sex marriage.
4. Economic Ideology for progressive taxation and support for higher minimum wages across USA.

Why was this electoral race different?

1. Election amidst a pandemic impacted every aspect of the election from virtual campaigning to presidential debates and how citizens voted. Every aspect of the election went online, and during that Donald Trump also tested positive for the infection.

2. A tight electoral race, due to which Georgia went for recounting.

3. Joe Biden broke the record for most votes ever casted for a presidential candidate, he even superseded Barack Obama.

4. In the wake of the pandemic, many American citizens voted through Mail-in ballots

5. Also, Kamala Harris has become the first woman vice-president-elect in the USA.

Why were the results delayed?

The last time a US election result was delayed was in 2000, and the winner was not announced until 36 days later.

In this electoral race, millions of Americans opted to vote through the mail-in ballots rather than going and voting at polling places due to the fear of coronavirus. The process of counting the mail-in ballots is long and tedious, which required the election workers to remove ballots from envelopes, check the errors, sort them and run them through scanners.

While some states had established provisions for this process, several states did not have this system. This acted as an obstacle for election officers, as they could not process the ballots in advance. Along with this, due to the close race between the two leading candidates, more votes were needed to be counted before AP could call one candidate the winner.

What is the world looking forward to?

The president-elect holds sufficient experience in dealing with foreign policy issues, as a former Vice-President and former member of senate foreign policy committee. which might be of greatest and utmost importance at the moment.

1. Pandemic– Across the world, there are more than 49,8 million cases of coronavirus, with reported 1.25 million deaths. The global community is looking for an appropriate method to deal with existing challenges and bring sustainable solutions for economic growth afterwards as well.

2. Climate change- Climate Change has been an issue of importance for the past couple of decades. The Paris Agreement is a step forward to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to which the USA, China and India contribute immensely. Despite that, President Trump had withdrawn its support and pledge from the treaty, the move received criticism from climate change activists and leaders across the world. Biden throughout his campaign and in his debate focused on climate change, and it is expected from him to re-join the Paris Agreement.