16 December,2020 08:13 AM IST | Washington | Agencies
Joe Biden. Pic/AFP
It is time to "unite, heal and turn the page" on the US poll, President-elect Joe Biden told Americans, hours after the Electoral College affirmed his victory over Republican President Donald Trump, who has refused to concede his loss and filed a litany of legal challenges to overturn the poll results.
The members of the 538-member Electoral College on Monday pushed Biden past the 270-vote threshold to win the race for the White House, one of the final steps required for the 78-year-old Democrat to take office in January next year.
Under the US system, voters actually cast their ballots for electors, who in turn, formally vote for candidates weeks after the poll.
In a speech from his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware after the announcement of his victory in the November 3 presidential election, Biden said the US democracy had been "pushed, tested and threatened" and "proved to be resilient, true and strong".
He said "the rule of law, our Constitution and the will of the people prevailed" over Trump's efforts to undo the results of the election.
"The flame of democracy was lit in this nation a long time ago. And we now know nothing, not even a pandemic or an abuse of power, can extinguish that flame," Biden said.
"In this battle for the soul of America, democracy prevailed. We the people voted. Faith in our institutions held. The integrity of our elections remains intact. And so, now it is time to turn the page. To unite. To heal," he said.
Biden said it should be celebrated, not attacked, that over 81 million votes were cast for him and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. This too is a record number. More votes than any ticket has received in the history of America.
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