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US Elections

Ramaphosa congratulates Biden and Harris, but mixed reaction from other SA politicians

President Cyril Ramaphosa took to Twitter to congratulate Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. “We congratulate President-Elect @JoeBiden and Vice President @KamalaHarris and the American people on your election. We look forward to working with you and deepening our bonds of friendship and cooperation,” the tweet read. The ANC had not released a statement. 
Sandisiwe Shoba
Vice President Biden And Jill Biden Sign Condolence Book At S. African Embassy WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 09, 2013: Then U.S. Vice President Joe Biden visits a memorial to former South African President Nelson Mandela outside the South African Embassy December 9, 2013 in Washington, DC. Then U.S. President Barack Obama departed Washington earlier to fly to a memorial service for Mandela. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

As Americans took to the polls on 3 November, African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) leader Kenneth Meshoe posted a tweet offering prayers to Donald Trump. “I pray for Pres Trump because of his support for the natural family, respect for human life, love for his country, protection of religious rights & opposition to a global plan called the Great Reset. The right to own property is a God-given right that the elite should not usurp,” he wrote. The ACDP hasn’t released a formal statement on the US election result. 

The tweet (supported by Steve Hofmeyr) was met with a backlash. Constitutional Law scholar Pierre De Vos retweeted the post with an article about how Covid-19 can “damage the brain”. Meshoe tested positive for Covid-19 earlier this year after attending a mass religious gathering in the Free State in March. 

The Economic Freedom Fighters, on the other hand, threw punches at the United States government. “Heads of government across the world have been assassinated and captured unashamedly by successive Presidents of (the) USA,” the party wrote in a statement

Known dictators Manuel Noriega of Panama, Saddam Hussein of Iraq and Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi of Libya were named.

The EFF felt black Americans would remain marginalised despite Biden’s win over Trump. “These elections make no turning point on the lives of black Americans as they will continue to be in the periphery and matter not.” Black women voters were considered key to Biden’s victory.

The party vowed to keep a watchful eye on the superpower. DM

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