The United States Congress has certified Democrats Joe Biden as the next president and Kamala Harris as vice president hours after President Donald Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in a chaotic protest and violence.
The US Constitution requires Congress to count the votes of the Electoral College submitted by the states. Biden won 306 electors to 232 for Trump.
The votes confirming Biden as president are a forceful rejection of Trump’s claims that the election was stolen from him through illegitimate balloting in key states.
The action finalizes the 2020 US electoral process and makes clear that Biden will be inaugurated as president on January 20.
According to officials said as a result of the violent protest in Capitol by Tump supporters, a woman was shot by police, while three others died as a result of “medical emergencies.”
Pro-Trump protesters, stormed the US Capitol building in a bid to overturn the election result, suspending a Congress session. The mob waving Trump flags and wearing “Make America Great Again” hats, broke into the US Capitol building and swarmed through the hallways, forcing members in both the House and the Senate to retreat to secure locations.
President Donald Trump later called on them to “go home” while continuing to make false claims of electoral fraud. Twitter and Facebook later froze his accounts.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser imposed a curfew from 6pm (23:00 GMT) and acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller called up the National Guard after consulting Vice President Mike Pence and congressional leaders.