U.S. Congress certifies Biden's victory after Capitol clashes

The U.S. Congress certified Joe Biden's presidential election victory early Thursday morning, after supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol, halting the certification process for several hours, reported Xinhua.

In declaring the final vote totals, Vice President Mike Pence certified the Electoral College count of 306 votes in favor of Biden against 232 in favor of Trump.

It takes at least 270 electoral votes to win the White House. The former U.S. vice president also won the popular vote by more than 7 million ballots.

"The announcement of the state of the vote ... shall be deemed a sufficient declaration of the persons elected President and Vice President of the United States," Pence said.

Soon after Congress concluded the electoral vote count certifying Biden's victory, Trump, who had repeatedly refused to concede the election, pledged that there will be an "orderly transition" of power on Jan. 20.

"Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th," Trump said in a statement.

Hours before the announcement of Biden's win, four people, including a woman who was shot by Capitol Police, died amid clashes between police and Trump supporters, which also led to dozens of arrests, according to police. At least 14 officers sustained injuries.