In the end, however, the Republican saw just four countries fall for him (and by narrow margins): Iraq, Cuba, Algeria and Congo.
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Obama sweeps the board
Oct 28th 2008
From Economist.com
Barack Obama wins a substantial victory in the Global Electoral College
BARACK OBAMA has won at least one election by a landslide. Voters in The Economist's Global Electoral College favoured the Democratic candidate over his Republican rival, John McCain, by more than five to one. Some 52,000 readers around the world cast a vote, with more than 44,000 votes going to Mr Obama. As candidates collected delegates according to the countries won (just as America's electoral-college system allocates delegates by state), Mr Obama's victory is all the more comprehensive: he claims 9,115 delegates, compared with a paltry 203 for Mr McCain.
Various patterns became clear during the course of voting. Candidates did best when they picked up backing from heavily populated countries with large tallies of delegates. Mr Obama quickly scooped support from readers in China, India and most of Europe, as well as from the United States itself. Mr Obama won the backing of an overwhelming share of voters in 56 countries—including the likes of Canada, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Indonesia and South Korea—claiming the support of 90% (or more) of those who voted.
Rich countries tended to vote earlier than poorer ones (a reflection of where most online readers of The Economist are found), with African countries among the last to fall for either candidate. Unsurprisingly, countries where internet access is limited registered fewer votes. At least ten votes are needed within each country for its delegates to become available. North Korea did not express a preference, although Myanmar (Burma) did eventually give a view—first favouring Mr McCain, but then ending in a tie (in which case neither candidate gets the delegates). Zimbabwe was late in showing narrow support for Mr Obama.
The general result may look lopsided, but judging by opinion polls carried out in various countries, for example by the BBC, Mr Obama is widely considered to be the world's choice. Considering the rapturous reaction that he received in Berlin, and elsewhere, when he toured the Middle East and Europe in the summer, Mr Obama (and America) would be right to expect more goodwill if he becomes president than that enjoyed by George Bush.
Mr McCain did garner support in some unusual places. Andorra, Macedonia, Cuba, El Salvador and Georgia were coloured red during the earlier weeks of voting. Nearer to the close of polls the Republican also saw Iraq, Namibia, Congo, Sudan, Algeria and a few other countries offer him support. It may be that Cuban exiles in Florida chose to register themselves as residents of Cuba, and wanted to express their support for the Republican. Perhaps American servicemen in Iraq were backing Mr McCain. Some Georgians may feel that Mr McCain would be a tougher commander-in-chief than his rival, and thus would be more assertive towards Russia. Macedonia perhaps backed Mr McCain in reaction to the hearty enthusiasm for Mr Obama in neighbouring Greece. In the end, however, the Republican saw just four countries fall for him (and by narrow margins): Iraq, Cuba, Algeria and Congo.
Readers have been keen to express views on the Global Electoral College: over 1,800 comments were posted in the course of voting. A few American readers are unhappy that foreigners were expressing a choice, regarding it as an intrusion into domestic affairs. Others grumbled that we offered only a choice between the two main candidates (where was Ralph Nader, or Bob Barr? And where was the chance to abstain?). Others asked whether some readers are “gaming” the results, for example by registering as resident in a country where neither candidate has won, and then casting a vote in an effort to pick up remaining delegates. No doubt this practice happened to some extent, but it is most unlikely that the overall result was affected.
Some supporters of Mr Obama feared that his overwhelming global popularity could backfire at home, with American voters preferring a candidate less popular with the rest of the world. That seems unlikely. For what it is worth, our readers in America also massively favoured the Democrat over the Republican, by 81% to 19%. One thing is sure: America's voters, however enthusiastic they prove to be on voting day, will not support Mr Obama by such a margin |
