PRESIDENT-ELECT Joe Biden has hit out at Donald Trump and praised US democracy after the Electoral College officially certified his election victory.
Biden said that democracy had proved "resilient" against what he described as an "abuse of power" on behalf of Mr Trump, who still claims that the election was subject to voter fraud.
The Electoral College met yesterday as representatives from all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, officially declared their results.
Biden only needed 270 votes to win, but managed to secure 306 to Trump's 232.
In his first extended attack on Trump since the election, Biden said that the president and his allies "refused to respect the will of the people, refused to respect the rule of law and refused to honour our constitution."
"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," Biden said.
"Our democracy - pushed, tested, threatened - proved to be resilient, true and strong."
Trump has previously been trying to challenge the result of the election by taking claims of voter fraud to the Supreme Court, but his claims were all unanimously rejected.
Biden however offered an olive-branch, of sorts, to Mr Trump, declaring: "It's time to turn the page.
"I'm convinced we can work together for the good of the nation," he said.
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