The president alleges fraud without providing evidence of it

The count brings Biden closer to victory ... and Trump files lawsuits

Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani speaks during a press conference about the legal challenges of vote counting in Pennsylvania.

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The Democratic candidate, Joe Biden, came close to winning the US presidential election yesterday, while officials worked to count votes in a few states that would determine the outcome, and protesters took to the streets.

President Donald Trump claimed fraud, without providing evidence, and filed lawsuits in an unresolved election race.

The gap in the election race is narrowing in five states, with Biden slightly ahead in Nevada and Arizona, while Trump watches his previous lead diminish in crucial Pennsylvania and Georgia with the counting of mailed votes or other forms of absentee voting.

Trump kept a slight lead in North Carolina, another crucial state.

Trump must win in the states in which he is still ahead plus Arizona or Nevada to beat his opponent, and avoid becoming the first American president to lose a second term since George HW Bush in 1992.

The Edison Research Center said that Biden was ahead of Trump in the electoral college vote, with 243 votes to 213 for Trump.

Other networks reported that Trump won Wisconsin, giving him 10 more votes.

And the winner must get 270 votes.

The count and the lawsuits set the stage for a state of uncertainty that may last for days, and perhaps weeks, before the electoral college on December 14th, and before the new president is sworn in on January 20.

As the tension escalated, about 200 Trump supporters, some armed with rifles and pistols, gathered in front of a polling station in Phoenix, Arizona, after rumors that were not based on evidence that votes for the Republican president were not counted.

In Detroit, officials prevented about 30 people, most of them Republicans, from entering the headquarters where the vote count was being counted amid allegations that the count in Michigan is marred by fraud.

Anti-Trump protesters in other cities called for the vote counting to continue.

Police arrested 11 people and seized weapons in Portland, Oregon, after reports of riots, and arrests also occurred in New York, Denver and Minneapolis.

More than 100 gatherings are due to take place across the country by Saturday.

As of yesterday morning, Biden was ahead of Trump by 3.6 million votes in the nationwide popular vote, but the differences between them were very slight in several states.

In Wisconsin, Biden led Trump by nearly 21,000 votes out of 3.3 million cast.

In Georgia, Trump led by 19,000 votes from nearly 5 million.

Biden (77 years) expected his victory, the day before yesterday, and launched a website to start the transition to a Democratic-led White House in January.

Trump, 74, has been seeking for some time to question the reliability of the vote if he loses.

Since the election on Tuesday, he has declared victory even though this hasn't happened yet, accusing Democrats of trying to steal the election without citing evidence, and pledging to sue some states.

Experts on the US election say fraud is rare.

Trump's campaign demanded a recount in Wisconsin, which he is entitled to given the very small difference there, and lawsuits have been filed in Michigan and Pennsylvania to stop the vote count.

Jocelyn Benson, Michigan's secretary of state in charge of elections in her state, described the lawsuit filed by Trump's team as "worthless."

The Trump campaign has filed a lawsuit in Georgia to demand that Chatham County, which includes Savannah, separate late-arriving votes to ensure they are not counted.

The campaign also asked the Supreme Court to allow Trump to join a lawsuit filed by Republicans in Pennsylvania over whether this crucial state was entitled to accept late votes.

Trump's maneuvering looks more like an effort to challenge the election results before the count is completed.

“They find Biden’s voices everywhere,” he wrote on Twitter.

In Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan.

It is very bad for our country. ”

As for Biden, he said that every vote should be counted, "and no one will take our democracy from us, neither now nor at any time."

If Biden wins, he will face a fierce battle for rule in light of the now almost certain Republican control of the Senate, which is likely to stall many of the bills on the legislative agenda that includes expanding health care and combating climate change.

Supporters of both candidates expressed feelings of anger, frustration and fear in light of the unclear date for the election result.

Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election, after winning crucial states, despite having led by nearly 3 million votes nationwide.

No Republican candidate has won the popular vote except once since the 1980s, despite Republicans winning three out of seven presidential elections during this period thanks to the electoral college system.

Post-election events cause Africans to laugh and worry

In the eyes of many Africans, US President Donald Trump's actions in the aftermath of the presidential election were ridiculous, but others reacted with resentment or disbelief.

In countries whose elections have recently witnessed accusations of fraud and acts of violence, some have expressed concern about the signal received by their leaders after Trump declared victory prematurely, his speech not supported by evidence of fraud, and the lawsuits he instituted.

“Trump is setting a bad example for Africa and for a country like ours,” said Mori Keita, who trades in auto parts in Guinea.

You cannot declare yourself a winner in elections you are a candidate in in the presence of justice ».

Dozens of people were killed in Guinea in protests before and after the president won a third term last month.

“This is a shame,” said Bashir Diallo, a mining executive.

Banana republics place such anarchy. ”

While the count data indicate that Democrat Joe Biden will win, some in Africa mock what is happening in a developed country whose rulers have been criticizing African leaders for not respecting democratic norms.

And when the US embassy in Ivory Coast called yesterday for dialogue and commitment to the rule of law in the wake of another contested presidential election, that triggered a tidal wave of reactions.

One of the citizens wrote on Twitter: "I think the response in the background is why don't you talk about yourselves?"

"What we see from Trump is not different from what we see in African politics," said sales official Tito Kiseya, whose presidential election last week sparked criticism from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

But it is shocking to see this happen in the United States ».

However, some observers of the US elections found some positive elements.

"The US election was calm, free of violence, this motivates you to participate," said Viviane Asiki, a teacher in Ivory Coast, where more than 10 people have died in clashes since the president won a third term that his opponents consider unconstitutional.

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Trump's maneuvering looks more like an effort to challenge the election results before the count is completed.

Trump must win the states he is still ahead, plus Arizona or Nevada to win the presidency.

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