View of part of the Fujairah Corniche and the Hajar Mountains in the Background

Friday, October 10, 2008

Vote for Obama or McCain Even if you Live in the UAE

It is all a bit of fun for this is your chance to cast your vote for the next US President.

The Global Electoral College
The Economist has redrawn the electoral map to give all 195 of the world's countries (including the United States) a say in the election's outcome.

As in America, each country has been allocated a minimum of three electoral-college votes with extra votes allocated in proportion to population size. With over 6.5 billion people enfranchised, the result is a much larger electoral college of 9,875 votes. But rally your countrymen—a nation must have at least ten individual votes in order to have its electoral-college votes counted.

There are few countries whose votes in the Global Electoral College are a foregone conclusion. So the winner is unlikely to be decided by a small number of "swing countries". Rather, they will have to cobble together a coalition of small, medium and large nations. (A campaign stop in Beijing is recommended, as well as a tour of Africa.) Voting in the Global Electoral College will close at midnight London time on November 1st, when the candidate with most electoral-college votes will be declared the winner.

How is the United Arab Emirates Voting?
As at 10 October 2008 the UAE map was strongly blue—Democrat, supporting Barack Obama. Obama had 94% of UAE votes and McCain had 6%.

How is the World Voting?
As at 10 October the world map was predominantly blue—McCain had 23 Global Electoral College votes and Obama had 8,560. The figures are updates every three hours.

Go to The Economist web site and cast your vote (you need to do a simple and quick sign in).

Who is your candidate and why do you think he is the best choice?

Dr Geoff Pound

Image: Web page of The Economist, Global Electoral College—Vote 2008.