President Donald Trump says the media cannot decide the next American president.
Reacting to the projection of Joe Biden, his rival, as the 46th president of the US, Trump said the election is far from over.
CNN, NBC, the BBC and Associated Press are some of the global media organisations that have projected Biden.
In a news broadcast, CNN declared Biden “elected president”.
Associated Press was more affirmative in its declaration. It tweeted: “JOE BIDEN DEFEATS PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP. The Associated Press declares Joe Biden the winner of a grueling campaign for the American presidency. He will lead a polarized nation through a historic collision of health, economic and social crises.”
In his statement, Trump said Biden is “rushing to falsely pose as the winner… his media allies are trying so hard to help him: they don’t want the truth to be exposed.”
“The simple fact is this election is far from over. Joe Biden has not been certified as the winner of any states, let alone any of the highly contested states headed for mandatory recounts, or states where our campaign has valid and legitimate legal challenges that could determine the ultimate victor,” the statement read.
“In Pennsylvania, for example, our legal observers were not permitted meaningful access to watch the counting process. Legal votes decide who is president, not the news media.
“Beginning Monday, our campaign will start prosecuting our case in court to ensure election laws are fully upheld and the rightful winner is seated. The American People are entitled to an honest election: that means counting all legal ballots, and not counting any illegal ballots.
“This is the only way to ensure the public has full confidence in our election. It remains shocking that the Biden campaign refuses to agree with this basic principle and wants ballots counted even if they are fraudulent, manufactured, or cast by ineligible or deceased voters. Only a party engaged in wrongdoing would unlawfully keep observers out of the count room – and then fight in court to block their access.
“So what is Biden hiding? I will not rest until the American People have the honest vote count they deserve and that Democracy demands.”
In a tweet, Trump had earlier alleged that he won the election by a wide margin.
