The US presidential election has galvanised attention around the world  [AFP]

Al Jazeera has been asking a panel of people around the world for their thoughts on the US presidential election and the two candidates; Barack Obama, the Democratic hopeful, and his Republican rival, John McCain. 

As the election race enters its final hours, we asked them what issues the next occupant of the White House should focus on.

I think I can safely say that Kenya is Barack Obama country, from the capital Nairobi all the way to the rural hamlets of Kericho.

Everybody is supporting Obama save for a few people who support John McCain, but they are drowned in the din that is Obama's support base.

From the old lady who sells vegetables by the roadside to the yuppie wannabe taking coffee at Java Coffee House, all conversation is about Obama, and more Obama.

I am very sure that if Obama does not win, the elections in the US will, in Kenyans' eyes, be unfair and rigged.

Personally, I would rather Obama wins.

After hearing and reading both their policies, I honestly believe that Obama's tenure as the US president will be much better for this world than McCain's. 

The main reason being that Obama seems to believe and agree that the position the US is in at this point in time is not the best, what with unnecessary wars and the lot, and that the best way forward is to forge alliances and make this planet less polarised.

In focus

In-depth coverage of the US presidential election

I do hope that US citizens share my opinion, as they are the ones whose votes count, and that they will be voting for Obama.

It is very saddening to hear of the plots to kill Obama and the burning of his effigy and one thing comes to mind that, one day, US citizens are going to have to have a candid conversation about racism and the place of minorities in their society.

I am all geared up to watch the voting and get the results as they come in, let's hope the Florida debacle won't rise again in any way.

I've been following US elections since I was 15-years-old. 

Tomorrow will be, again, a day of great anxiety, and I hope a great night.

I usually favour the Democrats, and tomorrow will be no exception. 

Here in Costa Rica, most people are expecting Obama to win too. 

To say Costa Ricans would be disappointed if he doesn't, is an understatement. 

Through the past eight years, as I've written before in this section, most Latin Americans have felt ignored because our region has not been a priority for the United States. 

Although that is unlikely to change, polls say that Obama is, by a wide margin, the preferred candidate in most Latin American countries, perhaps because he seems much more cool-headed after what we've seen from president George Bush's administration. 

Everyone here is awaiting the outcome of the polls.

Everyone will also be glued to their TV sets and computers on Tuesday night.  

It is not our new president who will be elected, but people feel that we all have something at stake in this race up north. 

It is, after all, the most powerful job in the world, the so-called leader of the free world.

The US is frequently an example for other countries. 

It is without a doubt a leader in many issues, and once the US does something, frequently other countries follow. 

It is for this reason, and because of the urgent need for positive leadership in the world, that an Obama win would mean so much to so many of us. 

After seeing a campaign built on grassroots support from the ground up and fueled by millions of small donors, it gives people of all political stripes in the region hope that, in all of our countries, a new kind of politics will be born. 

A kind of politics not based on who has the most money, or who the media is telling us to vote for, but based on the people, their ideas and their enthusiasm.

Many times since I came to New York I'd be walking down Broadway across from Columbia University and an enthusiastic 20-year-old with a registration sheet in hand would stop me and say: "Do you have a minute for Obama?"

I’d smile and answer: "I wish! But I'm not an American citizen."

I'm anxious about tomorrow, and so are many of my non-American friends.

We’re all following the election coverage very closely, and we all want Obama to win, even though technically, it doesn’t affect us so much.

The truth is that I don't think Obama will really achieve the radical change he keeps talking about once he's elected.

But he embodies an idea and him winning the presidency is not so much a means to an end but an end in, and of, itself.

He is different. He brings in a very fresh perspective.

He has the ability to mobilise and to inspire and that's something that is not very common these days.

I attended a meeting for young Republicans in Brooklyn recently, and one of the main points they raised was the fact that Republicans all over the country are having a very hard time recruiting volunteers.

On the other hand, Obama has sparked such passion among young people who were never before involved in politics.

It would be very interesting to see what he will do about that if elected president.

His campaign used the internet and multimedia in ways no other political candidate has, so imagine what it would be like if he continued as a president to be so connected and so innovative in ways of communicating with young people.

That is the part I'm most curious about - not so much what his policies and decisions as president would be, but rather his approach and how he would do things.

It's often disconcerting when leadership centres around the personality of the leader, when it revolves around him; when he becomes the subject, the idea.

When people idolise a leader, the flip side is that they are more likely than not to be let down, and that turns them bitter and jaded.

I can rationalise more and come up with arguments as to why I shouldn't be so excited over Obama, but I don't want to. I am excited about him.

His entire story and campaign continue to be interesting, and even though "interesting" can be a mysteriously loaded adjective, in my dictionary it's something good.

Obama aside, I have so many reasons to be disturbed by McCain winning, but it's enough to look at the latest episode of the defamation of professor Rashid Khalidi [a Palestinian history professor at a university criticised by Sarah Palin] to cringe at the idea of John McCain leading this country.

I was doing some interviews close to Wall Street when a man started rambling to me the other day - not knowing that I am an Arab - about "that pro-Palestinian professor Khalidi" and about "the threats" to America's security if Obama wins.

I had to exercise some self-discipline to avoid a pointless argument, dismissing the whole thing as an episode of ignorance.

There are plenty of people like that. I guess it's just fair to hope that they don't end up in power.

Barely a day away, and we await election D-day when the people of the United States of America finally seal their fate - along with that of the rest of the world - as to who should be the next president of the United States of America. 

So take a deep breath, there is absolutely no pressure on the shoulders of the Americans to choose that 'one man' wisely.

We, here in Pakistan, look carefully as to who will be the next president of the United States.

Will we be lead for another four years of rudderless Republican rule or will a new face emerge from the White House? 

For us, Barak Obama seemingly is a better choice, but then again, how can we be so sure?  Admittedly, we can't be sure at all.

But [we] hope that a logically thinking new leader in the form of Obama may actually help pull us out of the economic tsunami that we are drowning under. 

The Obama-Biden ticket has all the right vibes.

They have the Pakistan experience in the form of Biden and, combined with the vision for change in the form of Obama, we might just have the magic combination.

As a citizen of the world, as a citizen of Pakistan ... if my opinion actually mattered, I would choose Barack Obama as the next president of the United States of America.

Americans, please choose wisely.