Uncertainties abroad with U.S. election hobbled

Uncertainties abroad with U.S. election hobbled

TOKYO (Agencies): With hopes for a quick presidential election
result fading, fears were rising abroad that political
uncertainty in the United States could start to shake the world's
trade and security systems and unsettle Washington's top allies.

"I hope an electoral result will come out as soon as
possible," Japanese Foreign Minister Yohei Kono told reporters
Friday morning, three days after the extremely close vote.

In a Tokyo suburb, Ritsuko Kawahara shared the nervousness.
"They should end the election soon - it's better for global
stability," she said.

In Brunei, where President Bill Clinton will join leaders from
Asian and Pacific Rim nations for an annual summit next week,
senior officials said they would be watching for any hints of
future U.S. policy.

"Our interest will be high for anything that the United States
says that looks into what will happen next year," said Kobsak
Chutikul, senior economics official at Thai Foreign Ministry.

"Given the status of the U.S. election, anything they say will
be very interesting."

Still, officials meeting on Friday to prepare the agenda for
the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit said the U.S.
uncertainty would not undermine the gathering, held to hammer out
trade issues.

"I don't think so; hopefully not," Ricardo Lagos, Chile's
senior official to APEC, said of that possibility.

In China, people mixed admiration with scorn for the election
deadlock, turning the tables on the country that has often
lectured them about democracy.

"The eyes of the world are on the American election,"
proclaimed the Beijing Youth Daily.

But a 42-year-old Beijing housewife who gave her surname as Li
put it in perspective: "Sure, America has problems, but at least
there are elections. ... China's commoners cannot even choose
who'll lead China."

The election hinged on the results in Florida, where
unofficial results from a re-count showed Texas Governor George
W. Bush ahead of Vice President Al Gore by 327 votes. But that
may not end the wait. Democrats threatened lawsuits over the
voting, and Republicans considered recounts in two other states.

Japan's Yomiuri newspaper called for a quick, accurate and
conclusive recount to avoid mounting "anxiety" in the rest of the
world - and avoid putting a politically weakened man into the
White House.

"The turmoil over the vote count should not be allowed to
cloud the president's authority," the Yomiuri said in an
editorial Friday. "It is to be hoped that the disruption ... is
not a sign of global turmoil in the years ahead."

Despite the concerns, the uncertainty was not taking much of a
toll on world markets. Tokyo's main stock index, for example, was
down a scant 0.47 percent, while stocks in Manila gained
slightly.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard assured reporters that
there was no threat to world trade, adding that the U.S.
government was not in crisis since Clinton would be in office
until January.

He said the cliffhanger result demonstrated the strength of
American political institutions.

"I think that is a testament to the strength of democracy
rather than a criticism of the process," he told reporters in
Sydney.

In other parts of the globe, the turmoil in Florida reminded
many of their own troubled electoral systems.

"Call it the great American democracy at work, but for most
people outside the United States watching the presidential ballot
in Florida, it looked like a Third World election fiasco,"
columnist Thanong Khanthong wrote in Thailand's Nation newspaper.

Some of the reaction on Friday mirrored concerns in the United
States about the Electoral College system, under which a
candidate can receive fewer popular votes but still win the
election depending on which states he clinches a majority in.

The Statesman newspaper in India predicted that criticism of
the system will mount, no matter who wins the election.

African nations suggested on Friday sending 'observers' to the
United States to help overcome presidential poll confusion as the
world's press argued over whether it was witnessing electoral
chaos or simply democracy in action.

A top aide to Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe endorsed the
idea: "perhaps now we have reached a time when they can learn a
lot from us. Maybe Africans and others should send observers to
help Americans deal with their democracy."