Joe Biden wins the US presidency after days of counting
Major networks projected the former vice-president as the winner once Pennsylvania put him over the threshold, ending a tense wait after a record-turnout election.
Joe Biden was projected the winner of the United States presidential election on Saturday, four days after polls closed, after the state of Pennsylvania pushed him past the 270 electoral votes needed to defeat President Donald Trump.
The result capped an unusually long count, drawn out by a record number of mail-in ballots cast during the coronavirus pandemic. Biden, who had served eight years as Barack Obama's vice-president, won more than 81 million votes, the most in American history, while Trump received more than 74 million.
Biden, 77, became the oldest person ever elected president, and his running mate, Kamala Harris, became the first woman, first Black American and first person of South Asian descent elected vice-president. In a victory speech, Biden pledged to be a president "for all Americans" and to confront the pandemic, the economic fallout and deep political divisions.
Trump did not concede and alleged, without evidence, that the election had been stolen through fraud, launching a flurry of lawsuits that courts would reject in the weeks that followed. The refusal to accept the result set the stage for a turbulent transition.
Celebrations broke out in cities across the country and messages of congratulation arrived from world leaders, many of whom signalled hope for a shift in American foreign policy after four turbulent years.