Voter casts ballot for Lebanese superstar Haifa Wehbe in US election

Voter casts ballot for Lebanese superstar Haifa Wehbe in US election
A US voter has cast a ballot for racy Lebanese singer Haifa Wehbe in the hotly contested US presidential election.
2 min read
05 November, 2020
The voter chose Haifa Wehbe over Donald Trump and Joe Biden [Twitter]

A voter in the hotly contested US presidential elections has cast his ballot for a very unlikely candidate - Haifa Wehbe, a superstar Lebanese singer with a huge fanbase across the Arab world.

The voter was apparently based in Michigan, a US state with a large Lebanese American and Arab American population, the Lebanese website 961.com reported.

Michigan is one of the most important swing states in the US election, and turn out has been high among Arab voters. Every vote there can make a difference to the final outcome of the presidential contest.

Haifa Wehbe rose to fame across the Arab world in the early 2000s with her catchy pop songs. She also courted controversy due to her racy outfits and suggestive lyrics.

In some US states, voters are allowed to write in the name of a candidate not listed on the ballot paper and vote for them.

Read more: Why is the Arab American vote so important in the 2020 US election?

The voter uploaded a video online of himself casting his ballot for Wehbe, which soon went viral along with the hashtag #HaifaforPresident.

Several Twitter users posted "Between Trump and Biden, we choose Haifa", according to 961.com.

Others considered the US too small for Wehbe, calling for her to rule the world.

In the California city of Fresno, another voter cast a humorous write-in vote for Nabih Berri, the octogenarian speaker of the Lebanese parliament who was targeted by protesters last year for his alleged corruption and cronyism.

Meanwhile, Muslim Congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib secured a second term in Congress on Tuesday, in a big win for the Democrats so-called "The Squad".

Palestinian-American Tlaib and Somali-American Omar were the first Muslim women elected to Congress in 2018. 

Other states also saw Muslim and Arab candidates win Congress seats. 

"We did it! I ran to make the #AmericanDream a reality for Everyone. I am a proud #Muslim, #PalestinianAmerican, & #firstgeneration American. And I am proud to be able to represent my communities & the people of #hd41 in the #Colorado state legislature! Now, let's get to work," Iman Jodeh tweeted.



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