Barack Obama has won the 2008 US Presidential Election, to become the 44th President of the United States of America, the first African American to hold the post, and at 47 years old, one of the youngest.
The historic presidential contest, which shares similarities with the 1860 election of Illinois politician Abraham Lincoln, US voters were also at the polls to determine the make-up of Congress, the bi-cameral legislative body much like India's Parliament.
Barack Obama, the man who would be the United States' first African American president, said to a wildly cheering crowd of tens of thousands here, “Americans have sent a message to the world”.
In an emotional speech, Obama began by saying: “If there is anyone out there that still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible... who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.”
He said it was the answer told 'by lines that stretched around schools and churches...' as they waited for hours to vote.
It was the answer, he said, spoken by the young and old, rich and poor, Hispanics and Asians, Democrats and Republicans.
'It's been a long time coming but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, change has come to America.'
A little bit earlier in the evening, Obama said, he got an 'extraordinarily gracious call' from his Republican rival Senator John McCain. Paying a tribute to McCain who conceded defeat, Obama said he had 'fought long and hard for this campaign, for this country'.
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, one time rival of Barack Obama, congratulated her fellow Democrat on his election as the 44th President of the United States.
