Dipo Olowookere
By Dipo Olowookere
Republican candidate in the 2016 US presidential election, Mr Donald Trump, has won the keenly contested poll.
Mr Trump defeated his closest rival, Mrs Hilary Clinton of the Democratic Party to win the race to the White House.
With victory over Mrs Clinton, Mr Trump will become the 45th US president when he is sworn-in early next year.
The Republican swept the states of Florida, North Carolina and Ohio, which had earlier been noted as the battlegrounds of the two major candidates in the election.
The results have come as shock to Mrs Clinton’s supporters, who had thought she would clear the votes following her lead in the opinion polls before the exercise.
Mr Trump’s utterances before the poll had also made some of his key party members withdraw their supports for the political newcomer.
However, Mr Trump’s sweeping of votes in Wisconsin dashed the hopes of Mrs Clinton, raking 270 out of 538 electoral-college votes required to clinch the White House prize.
Reacting to the result, Mr Trump said, “It is time for us to come together as one united people,” adding that his opponent, Mrs Clinton, “has worked very long and very hard over a long period of time, and we owe her a major debt of gratitude for her service to our country.”
Mrs Clinton was formerly US First Lady when her husband, Mr Bill Clinton governed the country. She also served as US Secretary of State under President Barak Obama.
