Published 23:01 IST, November 14th 2020
US President-elect Joe Biden & VP-elect Kamala Harris share Diwali & Sal Mubarak wishes
As India celebrates Diwali, US President-elect Joe Biden and Vice president-elect Kamala Harris on Saturday took to Twitter to wish citizens a 'Happy Diwali'.
As India celebrates Diwali, US President-elect Joe Biden and Vice president-elect Kamala Harris on Saturday took to Twitter to wish citizens a 'Happy Diwali'. Both US leader also wished citizens a 'Sal Mubarak' - the Gujarati New Year, which falls a day after Diwali. Biden and Harris will be sworn into office on January 20, 2021, irrespective of Trump conceding his electoral defeat.
Biden & Harris wish 'Happy Diwali'
Biden's predecessor - incumbent US President Donald Trump too took to Twitter - to wish a Happy Diwali.
Biden elected 46th US President
After four days of vote counting, Democratic nominee Joe Biden has been elected as the 46th US President, as called by the Associated Press (AP) on 7 November. With Biden winning 290 electoral college votes, AP called the presidential race with Biden winning four swing states - Nevada, Arizona, and Pennsylvania. Biden has also won the popular vote, winning 50.9% of the votes - amassing 7,81,82,102 ballots. Georgia is currently 'recounting its votes' by hand.
With Joe Biden's win, his Vice-Presidential pick Kamala Harris has made history as the first Black woman to become Vice President. Donald Trump lost the presidential race after he secured only 232 electoral college votes and 47.7% of the votes - 7,27,81,452 ballots. Though Trump is gearing to challenge the election results in six swing states, the Democrats have retained the House while Senate control rests on 2 run-off elections in January, as per AP. Biden won his home state of Pennsylvania which made him cross the 270-halfway mark. Trump is yet to concede the race.
US election results counting
After a massive campaign, US witnessed a very close election battle between incumbent President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden on November 3. With record mail-in ballots being polled amid the raging COVID-19 pandemic, the results were inconclusive on November 3, as millions of ballots remained to be counted. Biden broke Barack Obama's record of 2008 elections getting over 78 million as the polls saw the highest voter turnout since 1908. As he inched closer to victory, he maintained 'Every vote must be counted'.
Trump, on the other hand, filed lawsuits in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia, Arizona alleging voter fraud- most have been struck down. His campaign has also moved the Supreme Court to halt the counting of ballots received up to three days after the election, which has been struck down. Trump, has claimed 'We have already won the election', with Twitter flagging his claims as false. He also held a press conference claiming massive election fraud, which has been debunked by the US Federal election commission.
Updated 23:01 IST, November 14th 2020