JOE BIDEN HAS been elected president of the United States.
Biden has an unassailable lead in the contest with incumbent Donald Trump, claiming enough states to secure the required number of electoral college votes.
The key swing state of Pennsylvania brought Biden past the crucial 270 number.
After the result of a batch of 3,000 votes were announced this afternoon in Pennsylvania, Biden increased his lead to 49.6% in the state over 49.1% for Trump.
Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral college votes, plus the six votes from Nevada which was declared shortly afterwards, puts Biden at 276 to Trump’s 214.
A small number of states, including Georgia and North Carolina, are still tallying their votes, which means the final electoral college result will not be known for some days.
The victory means Biden will become the 46th president of the United States, and the oldest to take up the office. The Democrat turns 78 years old later this month.
Trump has already cried foul, as had been widely expected, and alleged that the Democrats “stole” the election.
Trump has already said he wants a recount in Wisconsin. He also said he was unhappy with how the votes were being counted in Pennsylvania.
This means that it could be weeks before Biden’s victory is officially confirmed due to legal challenges.
Biden’s victory comes following his third tilt at the White House, after previous runs in 2008 and 1988.
Biden will become the 14th former vice president to go on to become president, having served two terms as vice president to Barack Obama.
Obama has frequently said that choosing Biden as a running mate was the best decision of his presidency and in 2017 he rewarded Biden with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Biden is on the record as stating he regretted not running to succeed Obama in 2016, when Hillary Clinton was defeated by Trump.
Biden’s victory also means that Senator Kamala Harris is to become the first female vice president, and the first person of colour to hold the office of vice president.
Additional reporting by Christine Bohan, Órla Ryan and Lauren Boland
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say