By Sylvia Chebet

The United States Vice President Kamala Harris' consession speech seemed to have brought a tense election period to a conclusion.

Earlier, President-elect Donald Trump made his victory speech, confident that he had won both the popular vote and the minimum required Electoral College votes when key battlegrounds turned in his favour.

Although it is now certain Trump will be heading back to the White House, he will not be officially declared the winner until the Electoral College votes on December 17.

An Electoral College is composed of electors who largely represent the leading parties' interests.

“The electors shall meet in their respective states and vote by ballot for president and vice-president," the US constitition reads in part.

The electors will then send their endorsed, official vote count certificate to the serving US vice president (acting as president of the Senate), state officials, the federal court that has jurisdiction over the state capital area, and the federal Archivist.

According to the law, the vote certificates must be received in Washington DC by December 25, 2024.

Declaration of the winner

The constitiution requires a joint session of Congress to count the electoral votes and declare the absolute winners of the presidential election.

That joint session of Congress will be held on January 6, 2025, at 1 pm (local time).

"The president of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted," the law dictates.

Being the president of the Senate, Vice President Kamala Harris will open the vote certificates and pass them to two members of the House and two members of the Senate, who will count the votes.

If there is a majority winner with at least 270 electoral votes and there are no objections filed by members of Congress, the presidential election is certified and over.

If there isn’t a majority winner, the election is sent to Congress to decide. The House decides who is president; while the Senate decides who is vice president.

Swearing-in

According to the constitution,"the terms of the president and the vice president shall end at noon on the 20th day of January ... and the terms of their successors shall then begin."

The next presidential inauguration is scheduled to be on January 20, 2025 at the US Capitol building in Washington DC.

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