America’s Electoral College has confirmed Donald Trump’s election as the 45th president of the United States.
Six weeks after his upset victory over the Democrat Hillary Clinton, Trump sailed as expected past the 270 votes needed to make his victory official according to US media, clearing the way for him to succeed Barack Obama on January 20.
In a statement released by his team, the president-elect welcomed the “overwhelming vote” in his favor, while reaching out to the Democrats who sought to block him.
“With this historic step we can look forward to the bright future ahead,” he said.
“I will work hard to unite our country and be the president of all Americans.
“We did it!”, the 70-year-old billionaire tweeted after the results came in.
“Thank you to all of my great supporters, we just officially won the election (despite all of the distorted and inaccurate media).”
The Electoral College vote works like this: when US voters cast ballots on November 8, they did not directly elect the president but rather 538 electors charged with translating their wishes into reality.
Trump won a clear majority of those electors: 306.
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