Donald Trump has called for an orderly transition after Joe Biden was confirmed as the next president of the United States.
Mr Biden will become the 46th president after his election victory was confirmed in a joint session of Congress on Thursday morning, following a day of riots in Washington.
The session was delayed for over four hours after pro-Trump protestors forced entry into the Capitol building, causing lawmakers to be evacuated.
Mr Biden will be inaugurated on January 20.
In a statement, Mr Trump – who has had his Twitter and Facebook accounts blocked for at least 12 hours – pledged an orderly transition but continued to disagree with the result.
He said: “Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition of power on January 20th.
“I have always said we would continue our fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted.
“While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it’s only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again!”
Mr Trump has been criticised by politicians from America and around the world for inciting the protests.
A Save America rally on Wednesday afternoon saw Trump repeat unsubstantiated claims of electoral fraud, despite having over 60 lawsuits thrown out following his election defeat on November 3.
Following the storming of the Capitol building he then released a video on Twitter calling on the “special” protestors to go home, but claimed “we love you” and insisted the election was “stolen from us.”
Mr Biden meanwhile has heavily criticised the actions of protestors, and had previously called on Mr Trump to “fulfil his oath” and demand an end to the violence.
He said: “The scenes of chaos at the Capitol do not reflect a true America, do not represent who we are.
“What we are seeing is a small number of number of extremists dedicated to lawlessness.
“It’s not protest, it’s insurrection.
“I am genuinely shocked and saddened that our nation, so long the beacon of light and hope for democracy, has come to such a dark moment.”
The confirmation of Biden’s victory comes after objections were raised about the legitimacy of votes in Arizona and Pennsylvania.
Both objections were dismissed in the House of Representatives and the Senate.
The result was certified by Vice-President Mike Pence, who had earlier rejected calls from Mr Trump to illegally overturn the election result.
In a mirroring of the November election results, Mr Biden and Vice-President-Elect, Kamala Harris, received 306 Electoral College votes compared to 232 for Mr Trump and Mr Pence.
By Callum Parke
Featured image: Callum Parke