US: Transition hits snags

Thursday 12th November 2020

The US finds itself in a bind. For the first time in its history, roadblocks have been slapped in the path of a President-elect and his transition officials. Joe Biden has sought to make light of the situation by claiming that transition is happening, and the Republicans will come to terms with their defeat with the passage of time, but the GOP seems to be having some other plans. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell (Republican) has said President Donald Trump has time till 14 Dec., when the Electoral College is scheduled to vote, to challenge the election results, and there is the possibility of litigation. Trump himself has said he will take the election to the Supreme Court.

Although the Republicans have refused to recognise Biden as the President-elect, world leaders are falling over themselves to congratulate him. Among them are German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President, Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Sri Lankan leaders have done likewise. Russia and China, however, have not yet issued congratulatory messages. Strangely, China, which must be more than happy to see the back of its bete noire, Trump, has said it is awaiting the official endorsement of the election of Biden to congratulate him. Beijing may be right in doing so in that the process of electing the US President is not yet over; only the general election has been concluded. The Electoral College vote is more than four weeks away.

Issues that have stood in the way of the transfer of power in the US may be sorted out either politically or legally in time for the inauguration of the new President on 06 January 2021. As for Trump’s future course of action, there are two possibilities. Either the sobering political reality will dawn on him within the next few days, causing him to resign himself to the fact that he has lost, or he will continue to fight a la Rutherford B. Hayes, who clinched the presidency, in 1877, after a prolonged struggle, having almost conceded defeat initially. It is also being speculated in some quarters that Trump may emulate President Grover Cleveland, who failed to get re-elected in 1889, but won the presidency again in 1893. Trump has obtained a staggering 71.9 million votes, the highest ever for a defeated candidate while Biden has set a record in the US by polling more than 76.9 million votes. Having secured so many votes, Trump may seek to expand his support base with a view to making a comeback. If Trump is toying with the idea of running for President again in 2024, he will have to be mindful of his legacy and act gracefully as regards the transfer of power.

Whatever the outcome of the ongoing tug-of-war between the Trump administration and Biden’s transition team may be, the image of the US as the self-proclaimed standard-bearer for global democracy will suffer irreparable damage. Usually, it is from the developing world that serious allegations of electoral frauds are heard. When the incumbent American President himself alleges that an election has been stolen, it is only natural that the world thinks less of the US. Most of all, when the US President complains of injustice, how can those living in other countries expect justice from the US?

The US considers Sri Lanka its burden and never misses an opportunity to pontificate to the latter on the need to uphold democracy and conduct free and fair elections. But the transfer of power occurred smoothly here when a sitting President was beaten in a presidential election. Many were those who predicted that the then President Mahinda Rajapaksa would cling on to power even if he was defeated in the 2015 presidential race. His government had suspicions about brisk polling in some areas, where the Opposition candidate received a large number of votes, but Rajapaksa conceded defeat even before the final result of the election was officially announced. Sadly, the transition of power has hit snags in the US.