Nelson Mandela Foundation congratulates Biden 'with a sense of relief' as Trump loses

The Nelson Mandela Foundation on Sunday, November 8 congratulated US President-elect Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris for their victory in the presidential election as the foundation 'celebrated' the projected defeat of Donald Trump. The Mandela Foundation urged Biden to resolve the problems related to racism, sexism, xenophobia and Afrophobia.

"It is with a sense of relief that we have seen President Donald Trump defeated in the US presidential election. Like many around the world, we celebrate the fact that we won’t have to watch him undermining democratic institutions and listen to him bringing the most powerful office in the world into disrepute for another four years," the foundation said in a statement.

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The foundation further urged Trump to support what it termed a difficult transition. "We call on Mr. Trump to embrace the democratic process, support the transition, and begin contributing to the healing of a deeply fractured society. As Nelson Mandela often used to say, a good leader knows when to step down. And how to do so appropriately. It’s not too late for Trump to embrace dignity, for himself and for others," the statement added. 

Meanwhile, the foundation also praised Vice President-elect Kamala Harris for being the first woman VP in history. Other African leaders have also congratulated President-elect Biden and Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris.

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US Elections 2020

Democratic candidate Joe Biden was declared the winner of the US Presidential elections 2020 as per projections of numerous media networks almost four days after polling closed, with mail-in ballots still being counted in some states. He will be the 46th President of the United States after the inauguration on January 20. It was Biden's home state Pennsylvania that finally delivered the victory to him, pushing him over the significant 270-electoral college votes mark.

While he will formally assume office in January 2021, there is still the matter of Trump refusing to cleanly concede the election. Trump was last heard claiming that it was he who won the election and that mail-in ballots had defrauded the American people. The Trump campaign has also challenged counting in several states by filing a series of lawsuits. The incumbent leader has accused the poll officials of "cheating" and "fraud" as they continued counting ballots that arrived after 8 pm on the final voting day. 

Regardless, scores of world leaders have congratulated Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and the American people have taken to the streets to celebrate - probably not the best idea given that the US is the country worst-hit by the coronavirus crisis with record numbers of new cases now being reported on a daily basis. Biden has stated he would take decisive action on the pandemic as soon as he assumes office.

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(Image -AP)