Live blog: US presidential election 2012
Barack Obama has won the 2012 US Presidential Elections, winning a second term. Mitt Romney has conceded defeat. Follow RFI English's Live Blog for the latest updates.
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Refresh this page regularly for the latest updates.
09:20 UT: This live blog has now closed, but you can read a summary of the major developments here. You can also listen back to our special edition broadcasts. Thank you for joining us.
08:23 UT: The special edition of Paris Live on RFI has now wrapped up for the day, but you can listen back to the entire morning's broadcasts on our website, featuring exclusive reports on the ground in the United States, reactions from around the world, and analyses from our panel of experts in Paris. Click to our home page to listen.
07:52 UT: Here is a video of Barack Obama's victory speech:
07:49 UT: Mitt Romney posted this picture on his official Facebook account an hour ago:
07:48 UT: RFI's Kenya correspondent also says Kenyans hope Barack Obama will visit the country during his second term. Kenyans were disappointed that he did not visit during his first term.
07:44 UT: RFI's David John Bwakali reports from Nairobi, Kenya. Obama's father was born in Kenya, and our correspondent says Kenyans were very enthusiastic about Obama's re-election.
07:35 UT: Listen now to RFI's exclusive analyses and insights from:
Fred Davis, a lawyer, a member of the New York and Paris Bars, and a member of Democrats Abroad France.
Erik Svane, a journalist, writer, and member of Republicans Abroad France.
And Axel Krause, correspondent for TransAtlantic Magazine and Secretary General of the Anglo-American Press Association of Paris.
07:33 UT: RFI's Sarah Elzas, reporting from Barack Obama's campaign headquarters in Chicago, says among the jubilation, Obama's supporters also understand the President's message that there is still "a lot of hard work to be done".
07:25 UT: RFI's correspondent JJ Cornish, reporting from the US embassy in Pretoria, South Africa, says Obama's re-election has been warmly received by South African politicians.
07:15 UT: RFI's Karen Percy says trade relations between the US and Russia will continue to be a major sticking point between Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
07:13 UT: RFI's Karen Percy in Moscow says, despite Barack Obama's re-election, there is unlikely to be a thawing of relations between the US and Russia.
07:09 UT: Here is a small selection of Barack Obama's victory speech given just a moment ago:
We are an American family and we rise and fall together as one nation and as one people.
Barack Obama victory speech
07:08 UT: RFI's Marjorie Hache reports live from outside the US embassy in Paris.
07:06 UT: RFI's Silvano Mendes in Florida reports Barack Obama has a small lead in this crucial swing state with 29 electoral college votes up for grabs. Latino voters mobilised, but it's still too early for official results.
07:03 UT: A photo of Barack Obama giving his victory speech:
06:58 UT: More celebrations on New York's Times Square:
06:54 UT: Clarifications from Barack Obama's twitter page: tweets from the President himself are signed "B.O.". Other tweets were created by his campaign team.
06:46 UT: At 07:00 UT, we will get the latest from RFI's correspondents in the United States, as well as international reactions from Russia, Kenya, Belgium and Ghana. Listen LIVE now via our homepage.
06:43 UT: Earlier, RFI's Beijing correspondent Anne Meijdam says Chinese authorities viewed an Obama re-election more favourably than Mitt Romney as president.
06:40 UT: Obama tells crowd in Chicago: "...You, the American people; reminded us that, while our road has been hard…we have fought our way back, and we know in our hearts, the best is yet to come."
06:38 UT: Listen to Obama's speech LIVE now on RFI English.
06:37 UT: Barack Obama on stage now. About to speak.
06:35 UT: Laura Angela Bagnetto reports that 19 women have been elected to the US Senate, including the first disabled woman, the first openly-gay woman, and the first Asian woman.
06:33 UT: RFI's Laura Angela Bagnetto says "everything is packed up" at Mitt Romney's headquarters in Boston.
06:32 UT: RFI's Sarah Elzas says crowds at Obama's camp are in a "holding pattern", eagerly awaiting Obama to speak.
06:30 UT: Our guest, Erik Svane, believes left-leaning media in the United States and overseas played a major role in the elections.
06:29 UT: Latest results projections on RFI: 303 college electorate votes for Barack Obama, 203 for Mitt Romney. 270 needed to win.
06:26 UT: Our guests tell RFI that Obama will continue to face tough questions about the state of the US economy.
06:22 UT: Listen to RFI English now for more analysis on the Presidential election results. Our guests: Martin Michelot, research and programme coordinator at the German Marshall Fund USA.
Constance Borde, the chair of Democrats Abroad France.
Erik Svane, author of La Bannière Etoilée, a book about anti-Americanism around the world, and a member of Republicans Abroad France.
06:18 UT: Here is a screenshot of Barack Obama's official website:
06:16 UT: But there were lighter moments in Mitt Romney's speech. He said his running mate, Paul Ryan, was the "best choice he made" since choosing his wife. He also said his wife, Ann Romney, "would have made a great First Lady."
06:14 UT: RFI's Laura Angela Bagnetto, from Romney headquarters, says Mitt Romney gave an "impassioned" but subdued concession speech.
06:09 UT: RFI's Sarah Elzas earlier reported the site for Obama's election headquarters in Chicago is a lot smaller this year than in 2008. This year's venue is an indoor convention centre, McCormick Place:
06:05 UT: Obama supporters celebrating on New York's Times Square:
06:03 UT: Sarah Elzas, reporting live at Obama's headquarters, says the crowd is now eagerly awaiting Barack Obama to speak. Chanting "Four more years".
05:56 UT: MITT ROMNEY CONCEDES DEFEAT.
05:55 UT: MITT ROMNEY SPEAKING NOW. LISTEN LIVE ON RFI.
5:54 UT:Mitt Romney's twitter account has not tweeted in recent hours. This is one of the latest from Barack Obama:
We're all in this together. That's how we campaigned, and that's who we are. Thank you. -bo
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) November 7, 2012
05:48 UT: Disappointment at Mitt Romney's headquarters in Boston.
05:44 UT: Laura Angela Bagnetto says that, even if Mitt Romney wins the key states of Florida and Virginia, he is not likely to win the number of electoral college votes needed.
05:43 UT: Laura Angela Bagnetto says the "clincher" for Obama was the state of Colorado, which has been called for the Democrats. It is traditionally a Republican state.
05:42 UT: Laura Angela Bagnetto reports from Romney headquarters in Boston that, with 75 percent of the votes counted, Barack Obama is now leading the popular vote by 21,000 votes.
05:39 UT: RFI's Michael Fitzpatrick reports Mitt Romney is projected to take the key swing states North Carolina and Indiana from Barack Obama.
05:37 UT: Ron Soffer explains the US electoral college system, where a Presidential candidate can win the popular vote, but not win the Presidency.
05:35 UT: Tune in now online to get insights from Ron Soffer, a lawyer and a political system expert, and Ardavan Amir- Aslani, a Paris-based lawyer and a Middle East expert.
05:31 UT: Crowds of people have gathered outside the White House in Washington D.C.
05:21 UT: Joseph Kennedy III, a nephew of former US President John F. Kennedy, has been elected to the US House of Representatives, signalling a return to Congress for the Kennedy dynasty.
05:15 UT: Aside from the Presidential race, results from the US House of Representatives and Senate are also coming in.
05:12 UT: New tweet from Barack Obama:
A tweet from Barack Obama's official Twitter page.
Four more years. twitter.com/BarackObama/st…
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) November 7, 2012
05:07 UT: "The fight is not over, but it is very sober," RFI's Laura Angela Bagnetto says.
05:05 UT: Laura Angela Bagnetto reports Mitt Romney supporters remain confident at Romney headquarters in Boston.
05:02 UT: Sarah Elzas reports supporters at Obama headquarters are "exploding with joy", waving flags and dancing.
04:59 UT: In Florida, voters have rejected cuts to abortion funding, in a ballet voted on alongside the Presidential race.
04:58 UT: RFI's Nick Champeau reports from Ohio Barack Obama is projected to take this key swing state. Early voting helped to mobilise young voters, who backed Obama, he reports.
04:55 UT: RFI's Nick Champeau reports from Democratic headquarters at Columbus, Ohio, a key swing state.
04:53 UT: A recap: Barack Obama projected to win a second term.
04:50 UT: This election also chose representatives for thee US House of Representatives and the US Senate. Laura Angela Bagnetto reports Republicans will keep the House of Representatives; Democrats retain control of the Senate.
04:47 UT: Laura Angela Bagnetto reporters Mitt Romney supporters are crying at Romney headquarters in Boston. "Ohio was the clincher," she says, as supporters started crying when results from the key sing state in favour of Barack Obama came in.
04:44 UT: From AFP: The dollar tumbled against the euro in Asian forex trading after President Barack Obama won a second term following a nail-biter White House race. The euro bought $1.2869 in Tokyo, up from $1.2788 earlier Wednesday and $1.2814 in New York late Tuesday. The Greenback was also weaker against the yen, at 80.03 yen compared with 80.34 yen in New York.
04:39 UT: Listen now to our guests' analyses of the foreign policy challenges for the US president.
04:37 UT: Here's a link to RFI's US election results projections:
04:34 UT: Here's Barack Obama's tweet to his supporters:
This happened because of you. Thank you.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) November 7, 2012
04:34 UT: Laura Angela Bagnetto at Romney headquarters reports Mitt Romney has won the popular vote.
04:31 UT: RFI's Sarah Elzas at Obama headquarters says there are cheers of joy; supporters waving little American flags, and are eagerly awaiting Obama to speak. "it's just a big party here", she says.
04:29 UT: Barack Obama thanks supporters on Twitter: "This happened because of you".
04:24 UT: BREAKING: US networks CNN and CBS also call win for Barack Obama.
04:17 UT: BREAKING: Al-Jazeera English calls election for Barack Obama with 275 electoral college votes projected.
04:13 UT: Latest projects from Associated Press: Barack Obama takes 229 electoral college votes. Mitt Romney 190. 270 votes needed to win.
04:10 UT: Here is RFI's US elections results page UPDATED AS PROJECTIONS COME IN: http://www.english.rfi.fr/2012-us-election-results.
04:05 UT:RFI's Laura Angela Bagnett, reporting from Mitt Romney's headquarters in Boston, says many young Romney supporters have already left the convention center.
04:04 UT: RFI's Sarah Elzas, at Barack Obama's headquarters in Chicago, says there are lots of projected results, but no official results yet.
04:01 UT: Paris Live is now on air. Reports on the ground from RFI's reporters at Obama and Romney headquarters, as well as the latest world news. Listen online.
03:58 UT: In a moment, RFI English will be speaking to three guests to get their perspective: Ellen Wasylina, a member of Republicans Abroad France; Jake Lamar, a novelist and journalist, born and raised in the Bronx, New York, who has lived in Paris since 1993; and Ardavan Amir-Aslani, a lawyer based here in Paris who specialises in international law, defence issues and the Middle East.
03:55 UT: At 04:00 UT, in a few minutes' time, we'll be broadcasting the latest results and analyses live from Paris. Listen online on our home page as we give you a unique Franco-American take on the elections. And don't forget to follow this live blog!
03:45 UT: Here's a rundown of some of the key swing states in this hotly-contested election: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin.
03:40 UT: From AFP: Japanese shares fell 0.11 percent by the lunch break on Wednesday as investors focused on the knife-edge US presidential election.
03:37 UT: In such a tight race, election monitors have been out in force to ensure the vote went smoothly.
03:35 UT: Some of the major issues in the elections include the economy and immigration, as RFI's Laura Angela Bagnetto reports.
03:28 UT: It may seem the Presidential contest is only between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. But there are several other candidates as well. So who else is standing? Click here to find out.
03:25 UT: RFI's reporters have been criss-crossing the United States ahead of the elections. As the results come in, why not listen to our exclusive reports from the battleground states, background and analysis of the two key candidates' positions on key issues: http://www.english.rfi.fr/americas/20121023-us-presidential-elections-2012-barack-obama-mitt-romney
03:19 UT: Early predictions from US networks gives Mitt Romney a slight edge winning 163 of the 270 electoral college votes needed. Barack Obama is on 158.
03:15 UT: RFI English will be broadcasting special US election editions of Paris Live from 05:00 Universal Time. We will cross to our correspondents in Boston, Washington, Chicago, and Florida and across the globe for the latest results and reactions. We will also be speaking exclusively to Democrats, Republicans and analysts. Listen live from our website: http://www.english.rfi.fr/
03:01 UT: Polls have now closed in most US States. US television networks predict Barack Obama would retain Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Wisconsin.
03:00 UT (Universal Time): Welcome to the 2012 US Presidential Elections Live Blog on the RFI English website. We will bring you the latest results, as well as exclusive reports and interviews from RFI's correspondents in the United States as Americans choose the country's next President.
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