Will of people prevailed, Biden reacts to Electoral College’s decision

Following a 306 Electoral College vote on Monday to affirm his victory in the November 2020 election, Mr Joe Biden said the “will of the people prevailed”.

In a speech after the announcement, he said the US democracy had been “pushed, tested and threatened” and “proved to be resilient, true and strong”.

READ: Electoral College confirms Biden as US 46th President

The confirmation was one of the final steps required for Mr Biden to take office, on 20 January.

Speaking in Delaware, Mr Biden made references to the president’s repeated attempts to challenge the result with unsubstantiated claims of fraud, praising “ordinary men and women” who had refused to be bullied.

“The flame of democracy was lit in this nation a long time ago,” he said. “And we know that nothing, not even a pandemic or an abuse of power can extinguish that flame.”

Democrat candidate, Mr Joseph Biden won November’s contest with 306 electoral college votes while Republican Donald Trump’s 232.

Under the US system, voters cast their ballots for “electors”, who in turn, formally vote for candidates weeks after the election.

Although, President Donald Trump is not expected to accept the result.

However, supporters of Mr Trump immediately promised to mount protests outside the statehouses in battlegrounds that the president had lost, Monday’s voting went largely smoothly; there were no demonstrations that disrupted the proceedings, and in some states, police presence outnumbered protesters.