Bush wins popular vote; Kerry contests Ohio. Dreams Into Lightning has no particular contribution to make to the presidential election coverage, so we will simply note that it appears certain that President George W. Bush will emerge as the winner of the 2004 election. We will post on any significant developments.
GOP keeps control of Congress, may expand Senate lead. The Republican Party has retained its House majority and appears set to expand its lead in the Senate. News reports showed Senate minority leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota trailing his Republican challenger John Thune.
Karzai wins Afghan election. Hamid Karzai has won the Afghan presidency in the first such election in the history of Afghanistan. According to the AP story on Karzai's election, 'The country's joint U.N.-Afghan electoral board confirmed that the American-backed incumbent had clinched a five-year term as the country's first popularly chosen leader.' Electoral board chairman Zakim Shah said Karzai won 55.4 percent support in the Oct. 9 election, 39 points clear of his closest challenger and enough to avoid a second round.
UAE president dies. The President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan, has died. Analysts expect a reasonably smooth transfer of power as Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid al-Maktoum assumes acting presidency for 30 days while UAE's ruling council chooses a new president. Mahmoud carries a tribute. The BBC covers Zayed's death.
