Mubasher: Democrat Joe Biden on Thursday stepped closer to victory in the US presidential race as election officials tallied votes in the handful of states that will determine the outcome, Reuters said.

President Donald Trump alleged fraud without providing evidence, filed lawsuits, and called for recounts in a race yet to be decided two days after polls closed.

The presidential race was coming down to close contests in five states. Biden held narrow leads in Nevada and Arizona while Trump was watching his slim advantage fade in must-win states Pennsylvania and Georgia as mail-in and absentee votes were being counted.  

Moreover, Trump held a narrow lead in North Carolina.

Trump had to win the states where he was still ahead plus either Arizona or Nevada to triumph and avoid becoming the first incumbent US president to lose a re-election bid since George H.W. Bush in 1992.

Edison Research gave Biden a 243 to 213 lead over Trump in Electoral College votes. Other networks said that Biden had won Wisconsin, which would give him additional 10 votes. To win, a candidate needs 270 votes.

On Wednesday, Biden, aged 77, predicted victory and launched a website to start the transition to a Democratic-controlled White House next January.

Trump, 74, has long sought to undermine the credibility of the voting process if he lost. He has falsely declared victory since Tuesday’s Election Day, accused Democrats of trying to steal the election without evidence and vowed to fight states in court.

Meanwhile, US election experts had said fraud is rare.