‘Who is the banana republic now?’: The world reacts to the US elections

It demands to stop the counting of votes. Unfounded accusations of fraud. He claims that the opposition is trying to “steal” the elections.

Around the world, many were scratching their heads on Friday, especially in countries that have long been advised by Washington on how to organize elections, and wondering if those claims could really come from the president of the United States, the nation considered one of the most importants. the most emblematic democracies in the world.

“Who is the banana republic now?” The Colombian newspaper Publimetro rebuked on the cover a photo of a man wearing a mask with the United States flag.

The irony of seeing US President Donald Trump interrupted by major media networks on Thursday when he made unsubstantiated claims attacking the US electoral system did not go unnoticed by many.

The United States has long been a vocal critic of strongman tactics around the world.

Now some of those same lenses are spinning around the finger. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro laughed as the vote dragged on last Tuesday, briefly breaking the anthem of his nation’s annual beauty pageant on state television, singing: “On a night like this, any one of them could win.”

In Africa, long the target of US electoral guidance, a Kenyan commentator released satirical tweets, loosely drawing on cliches that have long depicted conflicting elections and questioning the strength of democracy in the US. Kenyan cartoonist Patrick Gathara tweeted that Trump “has barricaded himself inside the presidential palace promising not to leave unless declared the winner,” with a mediator “currently trying to persuade him with promises of fast food.”

Along with the mockery comes the dismay. Many people in Africa see the United States as a benchmark for democracy and, after conflicting votes in Tanzania and the Ivory Coast in recent days, they looked at what Washington might say.

“We ask ourselves, why does the democratic process in the United States seem so fragile when it is destined to be presented before us in the rest of the world as a model of perfect democracy?” Samir Kiango, a Tanzanian in his country’s commercial capital, said on Friday.

For decades, the United States has been a defender of democracy abroad, using diplomatic pressure and even direct military intervention in the name of spreading the principles of a pluralistic system with a free and fair vote for political leaders.

These tactics have generated both allies and enemies, and this year’s presidential vote, perhaps more than any other, is testing the strength of the values ​​it promotes around the world. And the world is paying close attention.

Few places on Earth have received electoral councils from the United States like the African continent, where the United States has encouraged nations to have independent electoral commissions, a uniform voter roll, and other standards aimed at ensuring a fair vote.

“The US electoral system has none of these. Not one,” Sithembile Mbete, a commentator and senior professor of political science at the University of Pretoria, said at an online event last month.

“Some African elections are better managed,” added Nic Cheeseman, professor and author of a book on democracy in Africa.

Denis Kadima, executive director of the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa, said he sees Trump’s approach to democracy as an exception, but “we should not use that as a way to allow our own governments to do bad things.”

In Mexico, some commentators asked the media to follow the example of American colleagues to cut off broadcasts when their own country’s president begins spreading falsehoods.

However, there were also concerns that in a region where many democracies are still on fragile ground, or in the midst of outright autocratic rule, Trump’s behavior could set a bad precedent.

“If we resort to violence or loud demonstrations or political leaders trying to do everything possible to skew the results before they are finalized, that will provide a different example for the countries of Latin America,” said Eric Farnsworth, vice president of the Council of the Americas. , a New York-based organization that promotes business in the region.

Still, despite all the uproar in the US, many said they see it as an incident, which is unlikely to damage the country’s reputation as a champion of democracy.

Kadima, in Côte d’Ivoire, said he believes Washington is upholding its ideals, although he admitted confusion about the persistence of the polling station system. “I’m not very impressed by the university system, which I don’t find terribly democratic,” he said.

His colleague, Grant Masterson, noted that the US electoral system has “50 different forms in 50 different states,” something he said works for the American people, but “it is certainly not the system that other countries are trying to adopt.”

Yet what he finds “fantastic for American democracy” is the concession speech ritual after a close vote, signaling that it is time to “take off your partisan hats and put on your national hat” and move on.

“That has been an exceptionally good example for the rest of the world to emulate,” he said, although this time he has doubts about such a speech.

As restless Americans awaited the voting results of the few states that had not yet been colored red or blue, millions of people around the world joined them. And however it turns out, many hoped that ultimately America’s humble democracy would emerge stronger.

Gathara, the Kenyan cartoonist and commentator, said he is optimistic that there will be a more honest discussion about democracy as a result.

“I really don’t know how it ends,” he said of his continued comment. “We are all trying to resolve this democratic issue.”