The United States has picked Donald Trump as its new president. Trump went over the requisite 270 mark after winning Wisconsin, his 27th of 29 states. Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, who won 18 states and the District of Columbia, conceded the race to Trump via a telephone call, CNN reported.
Here's a round-up of the the key results:
States for Trump (29): Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
States for Clinton (19): California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Washington DC (District of Columbia).
Electoral vote count: Trump holds 289 against Clinton's 218.
Two states remain to be declared – Michigan, where Trump led by less than a point, and New Hampshire, where Clinton led by less than a point, according to The New York Times.
Other elections: The Republicans won the House of Representatives and are likely to win the US Senate, as well.
How the US elections work
To become president, a candidate needs to win at least 270 of the 538 votes of the "electors" of the electoral college, which is a body of people representing each state. Citizens, in actuality, vote for the electors, who are either senior party or state officials. The number of electors in each state depends on the number of seats it has in the Senate and the House of Representatives.
The swing states held the key to determining the outcome of the presidential elections. These were the states where neither party had a stark majority, but both enjoyed similar popularity among voters. While Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania were considered the major swing states this year, other crucial ones included New Hampshire, North Carolina, Colorado, Nevada, Wisconsin, Iowa and Michigan.
Besides voting to elect Barack Obama's successor, Americans were also electing all 435 members of the House of Representatives – the lower house of the US Congress – as well as one-third of the Senate.
World reactions
Outgoing President Barack Obama called to congratulate Trump on Wednesday evening (IST), after several world leaders including British Prime Minister Theresa May and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also offered their wishes to the Republican. Right-wing politicians from Europe like Marine Le Pen (leader of the French national-conservative National Front party) and Nigel Farage, chief of Britain's UK Independence Party, congratulated him. The first world leader to congratulate Trump was Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Some leaders like German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen also openly expressed their shock at Trump's win. Von der Leyen, an ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel's, called it a shock and asked if it meant the end of 'Pax Americana', a state of peace overseen by Washington that has dominated world relations since World War II. Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland's First Minister, said she felt a "real sense of anxiety" after the Republican's unexpected victory.
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