Congress has formally certified Democrat Joe Biden’s presidential election win.
Elected officials certified Biden as the next U.S. president hours after hundreds of President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in an effort to stop the certification vote that was taking place at the time.
After the certification vote, the White House released a statement in which Trump promised an "orderly transition" when Biden is sworn into office on January 20. However, in the statement, Trump repeated his false claim that he won the November election.
After a debate stretching into the early hours of Thursday, the Senate and the House of Representatives rejected two objections to the tally and certified the final Electoral College vote with Biden receiving 306 votes and Trump 232 votes in the November election.
The outcome of the certification proceedings was never in doubt, but was interrupted by rioters who forced their way past metal security barricades, broke windows and scaled walls to fight their way into the Capitol.
Police said four people died during the chaos - one from gunshot wounds and three from medical emergencies - and 52 people were arrested.
The chaos occurred after Trump - who before the election refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he lost - addressed thousands of supporters near the White House and told them to march on the Capitol to express their anger at lawmakers. He told supporters to pressure their elected officials to reject the results, urging them "to fight."
Election officials of both parties and independent observers have said there was no significant fraud in the November contest, in which Biden won seven million more votes than Trump.
