Democratic candidate Joe Biden has consolidated his lead over Donald Trump in Pennsylvania, a key state in the US presidential race, results data show.
Mr Biden is ahead by nearly 29,000 votes, with 99% counted. If he takes the state, he will win the election.
Earlier, Mr Biden edged ahead of his Republican rival in Georgia, another important battleground state, where a recount will now be held.
Meanwhile, the Trump campaign said: “This election is not over.”
However, there is no indication Mr Trump will concede to his opponent in the short term.
“Joe Biden should not wrongfully claim the office of the President,” he tweeted on Friday afternoon. “I could make that claim also. Legal proceedings are just now beginning!”
Mr Trump has been making unsubstantiated claims of election fraud, spurring some fellow Republicans to speak up that the rhetoric should be toned down.
What’s the current state of the race?
Mr Biden is leading Mr Trump by more than 4 million votes out of a record 145 million cast.
But US presidential election results are decided on a state-by-state basis in the Electoral College, and the contest is much closer in the key battlegrounds.
Mr Biden has 253 Electoral College votes, while Mr Trump has 214. To win the White House, a candidate needs 270.
Some news organisations have a higher tally for Mr Biden, having projected a win for the Democrat in Arizona. But the BBC considers the state too early to call.
Pennsylvania, where Mr Biden was born, has 20 Electoral College votes. If the Democrat wins it, he would secure the victory with 273 votes.
The Rust Belt state voted Democratic in six consecutive White House races before it swung to Mr Trump in 2016.
In Georgia, Mr Biden is currently leading with more than 4,000 votes, and 99% of the ballots counted. Georgia’s secretary of state said there would be a recount because the margin was so small.
Georgia (16 electoral votes) is a traditionally Republican state and has not been won by a Democrat in a presidential race since 1992.
Mr Biden leads by more than 22,000 votes in Nevada (six electoral votes) and by fewer than 30,000 in Arizona (11 electoral votes).
Mr Trump leads in North Carolina (15 electoral votes) by more than 76,000 ballots.
Mr Trump’s team says legal challenges and recounts in some states will favour them.
Bob Bauer, a Biden campaign lawyer, says the lawsuits are legally “meritless”.
But on Thursday, a judge in Pennsylvania ruled that Republican election observers should be granted close-up observation of the counting.
A win in just Pennsylvania or two of the other four remaining states would be enough to confirm Mr Biden as president-elect.
Mr Trump would need to win Pennsylvania and three of the remaining four states.
BBC
