Elections sometimes deliver unwelcome and confusing outcomes. Usually, though, the consequences of those results are felt only in, or overwhelmingly by, the citizens of the countries where the ballots were cast. But if you believe in democracy, and that the conduct of elections are free and fair, and free from fear, there is little to do but to abide by the decisions of voters and allow the institutions of democracy to function as they should.
In that context, this newspaper respects the decision of American voters on Tuesday to elect Donald J Trump as the 47th president of the United States, notwithstanding that we find it perplexing and contemplate his coming four-year tenure with deep apprehension. Indeed, Jamaica—as does the rest of the rest of the world—had a stake in Tuesday’s election; in who leads the United States; and in the general governance of that country. And not only for the sentimental reason that Mr Trump’s rival, the Democratic Party presidential nominee, Kamala Harris, is partly of Jamaican descent, with family who still reside in this island.
Ms Harris’s father, Don Harris, a Jamaican, is a renowned economist and emeritus professor at Stanford University. Her mother was from India. Indeed, Jamaica has a large diaspora in the United States.
More importantly, the United States is still the most powerful country in the world. It has the largest economy, is culturally influential, and possesses the globe’s most technologically advanced military. I.