Obama wins Democrats´ abroad global primary

Source: Xinhua | 02-22-2008 07:57

WASHINGTON, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama was announced the winner of the party's global primary on Thursday, another big boost to his campaign to win the party's presidential nomination.

The International Chair for Democrats Abroad, Christine Marques, told reporters that the Illinois senator beat New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton by 65 percent to 32 percent.

A total of 22 delegates would be yielded from the global primary to the national nomination convention, with half a vote each, carrying 11 votes.

Among the eight superdelegates, two have pledged to support Clinton, and another two have said they favor Obama and the rest are undecided.

From Feb. 5 to 12, American Democrats living in 164 countries and territories around the world voted via the Internet, mail and in person.

Voting centers were set up in 33 countries, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Mexico, Canada, Italy and Japan, the highest number of voting centers in the primary's history.

"With the U.S. image so badly damaged by the present administration, American Democrats living overseas were eager to have their voices heard," said Marques.

It was the 11th straight win for Obama since Super Tuesday on Feb. 5, when a total 22 states and American Samoa held their Democratic primaries and caucuses.

So far, Obama has won 1,319 delegates to the nomination convention, compared to Clinton's 1,250, according to CNN.

Editor:Zhang Pengfei