Obama wins 2nd term as US president

KABUL): US President Barack Obama won a second term in office on Tuesday, defeating his Republican challenger Mitt Romney in a hard-fought contest. 

In an early-morning victory speech to euphoric supporters in his home town of Chicago, Obama said: “The best is yet to come … You have voted for action, not politics as usual.”

Despite a neck-and-neck fight with his rival in the nationwide popular vote, Obama easily clinched the electoral votes needed in the US system known as the electoral college.

Romney called Obama earlier in the night to concede defeat.”I pray that the president will be successful in guiding our nation,” he later told Republican supporters. “The election is over but our principles endure.”

US Ambassador to Afghanistan James Cunningham congratulated Obama at a post-election celebration at the embassy in Kabul, telling the crowd the American president remained committed to the war-torn country.

“Americans have sacrificed much, and contributed much, in Afghanistan,” Cunningham said. “President Obama is committed to our enduring partnership, our strategic partnership, with the people of Afghanistan.”

Official results have not been announced but Obama, according to US media, narrowly won several key states, giving him enough electoral votes to claim victory.

Both Obama and Romney largely sidestepped discussions of the unpopular conflict in Afghanistan during the presidential campaign, focusing instead on the US economy.

The election campaign in turn received thin coverage in the Afghan media, with most analysts anticipating little change in US policy towards Afghanistan stemming from the election outcome.

Cunningham said: “The American people have spoken, as they have in 56 previous presidential elections. The votes have been counted, and the work of our nation will continue uninterrupted.”

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