US election 2016: Donald Trump next US President

Donald Trump has become the 45th President of the United States of America, pulling off a stunning victory against his rival Hillary Clinton who a day before the election was said to have a 70 per cent chance of winning.

Trump made his victory speech at the Hilton Hotel in Manhattan, New York. 

"I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be president for every American. And that is very important to me," Donald Trump told a jubilant crowd. 

"For those that have chosen not to support me in the past, of which there were a few people, I'm reaching out to you for your guidance and you help so we can work together and unify our great country."

He was gracious to his rival, saying, "Hillary has worked very hard and very hard over a very long period of time and we owe her a major debt of gratitude for her service to this country." 

"Now it is time for America to bind the wounds of division."

Local media reports said Hillary Clinton had called Trump to concede the presidency but that she would not be making a concession speech Wednesday

A stunning victory

Trump won Florida, Ohio, North Carolina, Iowa and New Hampshire -- states that were considered to be swing states -- while his rival Hillary Clinton faltered in these key states.

Trump won Florida by 130,000 votes, which imply that third-party votes harmed Clinton in her bid to win the crucial state. Third-party candidates Gary Johnson and Jill Stein won 260,000 votes in the state.

The win in the Sunshine state provided a major impetus for Trump during his stunning success.

The final blow to Clinton came when Trump won Pennsylvania well past midnight in New York.

Trump's early numbers put Clinton on the backfoot.

Clinton won in Virginia and banked on upper Midwestern states to shore up her numbers. She managed to stay in the race with California's 55 electoral seats. 

Clinton also won three out of four electoral votes in Maine.  

Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta thanked Hillary's supporters and asked them to go home. She would not be saying anything tonight. .  

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The other states won by Clinton are New Mexico, Illinois, Connecticut, Vermont, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware and the District of Columbia. Trump has won Missouri, Nebraska, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Kentucky, Indiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee and West Virginia. But none of these are battleground states.

South Carolina caused a minor flutter in the Trump camp as early data showed Clinton to be in the lead. However, he later surged ahead to win the state, which has traditionally been a Republican firewall. 

Trump also won Texas, Wyoming, Kansas, North Dakota and South Dakota, whereas Clinton has scooped New York.

What were the battleground states and why did they matter

In US presidential elections, a battleground state has no clear favourite and can gravitate towards either candidate. US presidential nominees campaign hard in these states as they are crucial in winning the presidential race.

In the 2016 US election, the swing states are Ohio, Florida, Iowa, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, Nevada and Colorado. 

Since 2000, whichever candidate has gained ground in Ohio has won the election. 

Oil prices slide as election numbers come in

Oil prices turned downhill on Wednesday as early counting shows Trump was doing better than expected in several crucial battleground states.

As vote counting advanced, trading activity shot up and prices became highly volatile.

(WION)