Is the US election result invalid?
US president elect Trump has expressed doubts about the election results. After Green Party candidate Jill Stein called for a recount of votes in Wisconsin, Trump tweeted that millions had voted illegally without, however, providing any proof. Commentators feel his behaviour lacks sovereignty and point to other forms of electoral fraud.
A future president with no sovereignty
The US vote recount once again shows just how thin-skinned the president elect is, Der Bund writes:
“In a typically un-presidential manner Trump tweeted from the hip that 'millions of people' voted illegally, in particular, of course, for his rival. But why is this election winner so nervous? No matter how you look at it, this aftermath chips away at the legitimacy of the election result. Nevertheless, a distinction must be made: a recount is a legal process, even if it undermines voter trust. It is far more serious when an elected US president speaks of electoral fraud without any evidence, to say nothing of proof - an attitude that lacks the slightest sovereignty. ... But whatever else may be the case, the accusations of fraud show that the US needs to finally invest in its voting machines. Most of them are old and vulnerable to hacker attacks. The loser is American democracy, no matter who happens to be sitting in the White House.”
Take Trump's phone away!
Trump's insinuations about electoral fraud once again highlight how unpredictable he is, Aamulehti comments:
“Several indicators point to Donald Trump having mood swings since the election. Some people hoped the future president would take his duties seriously and surround himself with a team of experts. This week, however, these hopes turned to despair, and Trump has once again behaved like a child. There is no basis whatsoever for his claim that electoral fraud is responsible for Hillary Clinton's receiving more votes than he did. Someone should take his mobile phone away to stop his verbal diarrhoea on Twitter, at least at night. And someone should tell him that the election is over.”
Not everyone was allowed to vote
The real election fraud is that thousands of Americans didn’t have the right to vote for bureaucratic and organisational reasons, Phileleftheros writes:
“There were many injustices in the election on November 8. The biggest is that millions of people didn’t have the right to vote. Particularly in the states controlled by the Republican Party, obtaining the right to vote is a long and drawn-out process aimed at excluding voters, above all minorities who traditionally vote for the Democrats. The real fraud in the US elections is that a series of obstacles and manipulations prevents people from taking part - to such an extent that one wonders whether the will of the American people wasn’t distorted after all at the end of the day.”