(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Following the third and final debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, UAE representatives of the US Republican and Democratic parties say they are confident that their candidates will emerge victorious in the November 8 election.
Joshua Atkinson, the Dubai Director of Overseas Republicans UAE, said that during the contentious debate, Trump "brought up some points that were very valid.
"Those made her uncomfortable. Particularly with regards to Wikileaks, her e-mails, and FBI agents saying she lied to the American people," he said. "She's generally a more eloquent speaker, but what I saw wasn't conviction. She has a lot of it very memorised."
"What I saw in Donald Trump that continued from earlier debates is that he's very passionate and concerned about the American people as a whole," he added. "Over the next few weeks I definitely feel he has a chance to win, no doubt, regardless of what certain people say. But it's down to the American people."
With regards to Trump's debate statement that he would keep the world "in suspense" over whether he'd accept the electoral results, Atkinson said he believed the comments were misinterpreted.
"We've already had a contested election, with George W Bush (in 2000, with Al Gore). That's more of the spirit of what he was getting it, I don't think he was inciting violence, saying something unheard of or uncalled for," Atkinson noted. "He's looking to see what is going to happen. We might have a situation where people are going to have to recount."
Atkinson concluded by saying that he encourages all Americans to vote, regardless of party affiliation.
"It's important they understand the privilege and responsibility they have to vote, and if they don't exercise that voice, it's a waste of the opportunity," he said. "I believe that every American should take their vote seriously and vote with their conscious."
Late voting If voters have still not yet received their absentee ballot, they can go to FVAP.gov and download a Federal Write-In Ballot.
These votes will not be double-counted, even if an absentee ballot subsequently arrives in the voter's state.
Democrats confident
Tony Graham, media spokesman Democrats UAE, the official organisation for registered Democrats living in the emirates, said he felt "confident" about Clinton's electoral prospects following the debates.
"But you never take anything for granted, and getting people to vote is our main priority," he said. "But the polls look very favourable for Secretary Clinton, and certainly for us in the Senate.
"But, none of it matters if nobody gets out to vote," he added.
Graham also admitted that efforts to get Democrats in the UAE to vote have "gone really well."
"I've been amazed at the number of long-term American expats I've spoken to who have sheepishly admitted they've never voted before, and are now motivated by Hillary Clinton," he said.
Another important factor in convincing people to vote, Graham said, is Donald Trump himself.
"Trump is certainly highly motivational for Democrats, and for a lot of people who'd consider themselves Independent - people who have voted for either party in the past, or are voting for the first time," he noted.
Graham added that, in his opinion, a Clinton victory would benefit American expats, particularly living in the Middle East.
"I think a Clinton presidency is going to provide a lot of consistency with American foreign policy, and Obama's current policies. I think Hillary has more inclination to tackle big regional challenges, like the terrible open wound of Syria that is going from bad to worse," he noted. "For us, that's good, because the rest of the world doesn't like an unpredictable American foreign policy. Some of his (Trump's) statements terrify people."
Additionally, Graham said "the really offensive things Trump said about excluding Muslims from entering the US, in addition to being morally outrageous, are sad to hear from a candidate for President."
"So I'm really pleased," he concluded. "But we won't count our chickens until they're hatched."
Bernd Debusmann Jr. Originally from Mexico City, I've been in Dubai since January 2015. Before arriving in in the UAE I worked as a general news reporter in TV and print in Mexico City, NYC and Washington DC. I'm interested in defence issues, politics, technology, aviation and history. In my spare time i enjoy traveling and football - I'm a keen fan of Chelsea FC. I developed an interest in the Middle East traveling through Jordan and the West Bank. I have a BA in Political Science from Dickinson College in the USA and an MA in International Journalism from City University London. Share More > Vote var UNIQUE_ARTICLE_ID = "E23F87AE-F133-4FD5-BF32-CF6C027CE86B"; var SECTION_TAGS = "tag1, tag2, tag3"; var ARTICLE_TITLE = "Hillary%2C%20Trump%20have%20equal%20chance%20to%20be%20prez%3A%20UAE%20reps%0D%0A"; var GA_CODE = "UA-819330-1"; var VUUKLE_API_KEY = "841fb3e5-977f-4e2e-be39-fae608323cc5"; var TRANSLITERATE_LANGUAGE_CODE = "en"; var VUUKLE_COL_CODE = "646464"; var VUUKLE_COMMENT_COUNT = 1; VUUKLE_EMOTE_SIZE = "40px"; VUUKLE_EMOTE_IFRAME = "120px"; var VUUKLE_STORIES_TIME = 0; var ARTICLE_AUTHORS = btoa(encodeURI( '[{"name": "name one", "email":"","type": "internal"}, {"name":"name two", "email":"","type": "external"}]')); create_vuukle_platform(VUUKLE_API_KEY, UNIQUE_ARTICLE_ID, "0", SECTION_TAGS, ARTICLE_TITLE, TRANSLITERATE_LANGUAGE_CODE , "1", "", GA_CODE, VUUKLE_COL_CODE, ARTICLE_AUTHORS);
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