US president Donald Trump on Wednesday(4) claimed he had won the election, despite the final results not yet being given, and said he would go to the Supreme Court to dispute the counting of votes.
"We did win this election," Trump said in an extraordinary speech from the ceremonial East Room of the White House. "This is a fraud on the American public."
The Republican, who according to initial results is in a neck-and-neck race with Democrat Joe Biden, said he would go to court and "we want all voting to stop."
He appeared to mean stopping the counting of mail-in ballots which can be legally accepted by state election boards after Tuesday's election, provided they were sent in time.
The issue could become crucial in the states still tabulating votes in a very tight contest.
Democrats are widely thought to have cast mail-in ballots more than Trump's supporters.
Trump made his premature victory claim -- unprecedented for a US president -- shortly after 2:20 a.m. (0720 GMT), as states across the huge country worked to count the votes.
A record number of ballots were cast before Election Day, totalling more than 100 million, due to fears of congregating in polling stations in person during the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump began with a sometimes rambling statement expressing disappointment that he had believed he was on a road to certain victory but that results then stopped coming in and the Republican-friendly state of Arizona was called for Biden.
"We were getting ready for a big celebration. We were winning everything and all of a sudden it was just called off," Trump said without fully explaining what he meant.
"This is a fraud on the American public. This is an embarrassment to our country. We were getting ready to win this election. Frankly, we did win this election.
"We will be going to the US Supreme Court. We want all voting to stop."
There was immediate backlash from Trump's own Republican backers.
"It's a bad strategic decision. It's a bad political decision," Chris Christie, a Trump advisor said of the middle-of-the-night speech.
Manmohan Singh; the then prime minister of India walks in procession through Cambridge University in October 2006 before receiving an honorary Doctor of Law degree
With US president Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, and his wife Gursharan Kaur at the White House in November 2009
With Pakistan prime minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani at the 2011 ICC World Cup semifinal in Mohali, north India
Meeting Queen Elizabeth II during a reception for G20 leaders at Buckingham Palace in April 2009 
The scale of the event is immense, comparable to the combined populations of the United States and Canada. (Photo: Getty Images)
A Hindu devotee smeared with ash dances during a religious procession ahead of the Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj on January 10. (Photo: Getty Images)
Pilgrims carrying their belongings walk over floating pontoon bridges to go to Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers, in Prayagraj on January 12. (Photo: Getty Images)
