Following the violent protests at the Capitol building, the US Congress has voted to reject Republican lawmakers' objection to President-elect Joe Biden's victory over sitting President Donald Trump in the state of Arizona.
The objection was overturned by the Senate in an overwhelming vote of 93 to 6 late Wednesday night. Six Republican Senators voted for the objection. The House blocked the objection in a subsequent vote of 303 to 121.
The US Congress convened in a joint session earlier in the day to certify Biden's victory, but both the House and the Senate, which were separately debating an objection to the counting of Arizona's electoral votes, had to recess and evacuate after thousands of Trump supporters breached the Capitol.
Confrontations between law enforcement officers and protesters have caused injuries on both sides. Police of Washington D.C. said that four people have died in the chaos, while 52 others were arrested.
When Congress met again after the House chamber was cleaned up following the attacks earlier on Wednesday, objections to three states failed when none of the Senators would sign on. But surprisingly, one senator, Josh Hawley, joined in sustaining the objection.
Without extended discussions, the Senate quickly disposed of the objection with 92 votes against and only seven in favour. The House was still dealing with the objections.
US Electoral System
Under the US system, an Electoral College elected by the citizens votes for the President. The Electoral College met on December 14, 2020, and elected Biden with 306 votes to Trump's 232. Congress has to tally the Electoral College votes and affirm the election.
Trump has refused to accept the Electoral College verdict asserting that the elections were rigged. More than 50 cases filed by Trump and his supporters in courts at various levels were thrown out.
Trump has refused to acknowledge defeat in the 2020 presidential race with Biden and has been pushing claims of a "fraudulent" election, which have been dismissed by US courts at different levels due to a profound lack of evidence.
