Donald Trump will become the 45th US president after a stunning victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton, the Associated Press news agency has reported.
The Republican nominee’s projected victory came down to a handful of key swing states, despite months of polling that favoured Mrs Clinton.
The battlegrounds of Florida, Ohio and North Carolina cleared the way for his Brexit-style upset.
The CNN reported that Hillary Clinton has called Donald Trump to concede the presidency. The US president-elect took to the stage later at his victory rally in New York confirming this: “I just received a call from Secretary Clinton. She congratulated us on our victory.”
Trump’s projected victory in Wisconsin put him over the 270 out of 538 electoral college votes needed to win the White House.
The real estate tycoon, former reality TV star and political newcomer, who was universally ridiculed when he declared his candidacy in June last year, said his victory had been “tough”.
Democrats were also unable to wrest control of the Senate from Republicans, who retained their majority in both chambers of Congress.
Hours after polling stations closed, Mrs Clinton also suffered major blows in Democratic-dependent states like Pennsylvania and Iowa, where a Republican has not won since 2004.
‘I will be president for every American’
Trump in his victory speech after the results became apparent pledged to every citizen of America that he would be president for all.
“I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be president for every American. And that is very important to me… For those that have chosen not to support me in the past, of which there were a few people, i’m reaching out to you for your guidance and you help so we can work together and unify our great country.”
The Republican party running mate, Mike Pence at the Donald Trump victory party in New York this also said, “the American people have spoken, and the American people have elected their new champion. America has elected a new president, and it’s almost hard for me to express the honor that I and my family feel that we will have the privilege to serve as your vice president of the United States of America.”
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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana with files from AP, CNN, BBC