She won but for the constitutional milieu

Contrary to the belief of the outcome of the American elections last night, that saw Donald J. Trump elected as president, the democrat candidate Hilary Rodham Clinton did not lose the American popular vote, but the Electoral College vote,  a constitutional milieu just like the 1^st past the post voting system in the UK, this needs to be addressed against future elections, but is it a priority to the American electorate?

Let’s recall in 2011, when the then deputy prime minister of the UK coalition government,2010-2015, Nick Clegg had called for a referendum to give the people the opportunity to have their say on the  1^st past the vote or the alternative vote(AV) and the British electorate rejected the proposal in favor of the status quo.

Agree or not, it is only in a minute way that Hilary Rodham Clinton lost due to gender. Hilary’s bid and candidacy of becoming the 1st Female American president was jinxed from the start, which is why at every given time she vied for the position has happened when the global trends was in disarray and of course a time in history when a price was to be paid. A throw back at Hilary’s bid to the White House in 2008  and 2016 respectively will help throw a better insight to the outcome of the 2016 US elections.

Hilary’s 1^st Bid in 2008.

2001, a year into George Bush’s tenure as Americas 43^RD president, his administration was met with the September 11 terrorist attacks against America and subsequently declaring “global war on terror”, American troops moved into Afghanistan and Iraq. This gained him popularity and subsequent reelection for a second term. But with the hurricane Katrina, inconsistent stories about the war in Iraq, and of course we remember occupy wall street, a consequence of the troubled economy and financial crisis labelled the worst since the great depression, was enough for Americans to get tired of George Bush and the Republicans by the 2008 election year.
This perilous times got the democrats thinking outside the box, for their best intrigue and strategy at getting back into the white house.

Now, it was also the 1st time Sen. Hilary R. Clinton made an attempt at the democrats’ ticket, but the democrats also felt giving Americans its black president in the person of Sen. Barack Obama, was their most sell able strategy at getting the American minority groups vote and we saw Hilary Clinton who got far more delegates votes than any previous female candidate lose out to Obama who went on to get the nomination.  She was appointed Secretary of State as a compensation, a position she gladly accepted seeing it a one more step  in the right direction at global relations experience in preparation for her lifelong dream of becoming the 1^st  female president of the United States.

Hilary’s 2^nd Bid and the 2016 US presidential elections.

In  April 2015,Clinton announced her candidacy for the presidency, she was to face a strong challenge from fellow  party candidate Bernie Sanders, whose stance against the influence of corporations and the wealthy in American politics resonated with the dissatisfied American public. Then again the growing trend of 2016 is the wave of populist sentiments-anti-establishments, immigration, terrorism and of course the influence of the UK’s referendum spectacular towards its stay or exit from the EU, and the British public voting in favor of an exit, couldn’t have been a bigger reinforcer  to the US Republican candidates Donald J Trump's growing populist campaign and stoking of an already angry American public, with more anti establishments, immigration, criticism of the free trade agreement, transpacific partnership, homegrown terror and probably the biggest of the sentiments, economic protectionism i.e. China a threat to Americas industrial power and its SMEs are a few issues to mention. Some quarters also saw the populism being a white lash against a changing inclusive American society and against the election of the first black president and much more. Hilary and her campaign team, not saint in the campaigns themselves, lost due to diplomacy, tolerance and appeal to moral values in politics, Donald Trump ran with everything contrary to that.

But the lessons for Africa from the US 2016 election results must include but not limited to the ideology that keeps U.S democracy process going for more than 200 years which we saw at play, when Democratic candidate, Hilary Clinton conceded the elections to President elect Donald Trump as the handwriting became glaring on the wall.
These include

-          Prompt Concession to winner – a tenet of democracy

-          Putting country 1^ST and rallying round the elected president

-          Upholding the constitution

-          Rule of law.

Perhaps developing world including Nigeria can begin to look introspectively harnessing all of its human capital and resources but also with the political will and commitment to develop the continent than its continuous dependent on aid and grants.

Abimbola Junaid is a development practitioner and gender activist. Convener #BigsocietyNg. Follow her on twitter @A4arise