World media reacted to the long wait for an official verdict in the U.S. presidential race, as vote-counting continued in a number of outstanding states.
The Associated Press reported that the election outcome hovered in “suspended animation,” attributing the ongoing delay to high turnout, a “massive” number of mail-in ballots, and a razor-thin margin between the two candidates in some states.
The Guardian newspaper’s front page on Saturday simply read: “On the brink.”
Meanwhile, The Japan Times led with a headline that queried whether media mogul Rupert Murdoch was “dumping” Trump.
– Biden says transition team already at work as wait goes on for election verdict
Joe Biden’s transition team is not waiting on the official verdict of the presidential election to start work.
The former vice president said in a speech late Friday night that both he and running mate Sen. Kamala Harris had recently met with groups of public health experts and economic advisors.
It comes as vote-counting continues in a number of battleground states. The trend shows Biden ahead of incumbent President Donald Trump, with just 17 electoral votes required for Biden to secure the 270 needed to win the White House.
“While we are waiting for the final results, I want people to know we’re not waiting to get the work done,” Biden said.
“The pandemic, as you also know, is getting more worrisome all across the country. Daily cases are skyrocketing. It is now believed that we could see as many 200,000 cases in a single day. The death toll is approaching 240,000 lives lost to this virus.”
“I want everyone to know on day one, we are going to put our plan to control this virus into action,” Biden said.
The U.S. has now reported over 100,000 cases of the coronavirus for three consecutive days, according to a Reuters tally, with at least 129,606 recorded on Friday.
To date, the U.S. has recorded 9.7 million cases of the coronavirus, with 236,099 related deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
