Election watchers in Europe, Asia and elsewhere will be tuning in – and some have a particular interest in the result
From Brazil to Ireland and Germany to the Caribbean, this year’s knife-edge – and more than usually momentous – US presidential vote will be watched at a multitude of election-night events, some with a particular interest in the outcome.
In St Ann Parish, Jamaica – and most particularly in Browns Town, where Harris’s father Donald was born and the Democratic candidate spent many happy childhood holidays – her supporters plan watch parties, drink-ups and other social gatherings.
“I certainly will be watching it with bated breath. I’m anticipating a close election, but expecting a win for Kamala Harris because she is a dynamite, and I’m praying that, in the interest of democracy, she wins,” said 74-year-old resident Delroy Redway.
Redway, whose brother will be hosting a watch party at his sports centre, said Browns Town was on a “knife edge” for Harris, who people consider a “little sister”.
“Her grandfather is buried in the Anglican church, right there in Browns Town … so we will celebrate [her] victory,” he said.
St Ann Parish’s mayor, Michael Belnavis, is also planning a celebratory watch party. A Harris win, he said, would be a signal that democracy is alive and well in the US. “As you know, St Ann is particularly close to her,” Belnavis said.
“So I feel particularly close to this election . and we want to watch it and make it a celebratory thing by having a drink-up and just watching the big screen at John Crow’s Tavern in Ocho Rios with some close friends. Whichever way it goes, it’s going to be historic, and we want to be a part of that.”
Also watching with more than the customary interest will be residents of Thulasendrapuram, Harris’s ancestral village in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, where her grandfather was born more than a century ago.
