US Congress certifies Trump's election victory four years after Capitol riot

WASHINGTON -- The US Congress on Monday officially confirmed Donald Trump as the winner of the 2024 presidential election, four years after his supporters stormed the Capitol in an attempt to overturn the previous election result.

Amid a winter storm and with towering black fences encircling the US Capitol complex, the US House of Representatives and Senate convened in a joint session around noon to certify President-elect Donald Trump's election, marking the final step in confirming the results of the 2024 presidential election.

The session of US Congress was chaired by the current Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate who lost to Trump in the election.

Harris presented the electoral vote results from each state and the District of Columbia, and two Senators and two House representatives took turns to announce the vote counts.

The final tally of electoral votes showed that Trump received 312 electoral votes, surpassing the 270 needed to win the presidency, while Harris received 226 votes.

The congressional counting and certifying of electoral votes is typically a ceremonial procedure. However, the "Capitol riot" four years ago occurred on the very day of this process.

After losing his bid for re-election in 2020, Trump claimed there had been widespread election fraud. On Jan 6, 2021, a large group of his supporters stormed the Capitol in an attempt to prevent Congress from certifying the election results. The riot resulted in five deaths and hundreds of police officers being injured. The latest data shows that over 1,500 individuals have been charged with federal criminal offenses related to the unrest.

Many Americans have expressed their concerns about post-election violence. According to a POLITICO-Morning Consult poll, six in ten voters said they were either very or somewhat concerned that "another event like what happened on Jan. 6 will happen again following the 2024 presidential election".

President-elect Donald Trump will be inaugurated as the nation's 47th president on Jan 20, officially beginning his second, nonconsecutive term.