US President Donald Trump has hit out at voting "fraud" in the US election without any evidence, claiming victory before all results have been announced.
In an address to the nation from the White House, he vowed to take his fight to the Supreme Court because he wants "the law to be used in a proper manner".
"We will win this and as far as I'm concerned we already have won it," Mr Trump added - though 10 states are yet to declare and result remains on a knife-edge.
"This is akin, I think, to a presidential coup" Shane Coleman shares his thoughts on Trump's speech last night #Election2020 pic.twitter.com/ArQc1Sd6zp
— NewstalkFM (@NewstalkFM) November 4, 2020
Earlier, his Democrat challenger Joe Biden said people should "keep the faith".
Addressing Americans at a drive-in rally he likely hoped would have been the site of a victory speech in Delaware, Mr Biden said people should "keep the faith" while vote counting continues.
"It may take a little longer," he warned, after crucial swing states he hoped to flip like Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina and Wisconsin went down to the wire, remaining too close to call.
And others he wanted to turn blue - Michigan and Pennsylvania - face severe reporting delays, with no official result likely this morning.
US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks to supporters in Wilmington, Delaware. Picture by: Andrew Harnik/AP/Press Association ImagesIt means an intense showdown continues between the two candidates, with Mr Trump fighting to avoid becoming the first one-term president in decades.
"We're gonna have to be patient, until the hard work of tallying votes is finished," Mr Biden said, in a speech that lasted only a few minutes, adding: "It ain't over 'til every ballot is counted."
A bullish Donald Trump tweeted in response from the White House where he is watching the results unfold: "We are up BIG, but they are trying to STEAL the Election.
"We will never let them do it. Votes cannot be cast after the Poles [sic] are closed!"
He appeared to be referring to a decision by the Supreme Court to allow mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania to be counted up to three days after the election.
Twitter stepped in to flag Mr Trump's post, labelling it with the warning: "Some or all of the content shared in this tweet is disputed and might be misleading about an election or other civic process."
In a boost for Mr Biden, he is leading by around 150,000 votes in the race for Arizona - a significant flip if he can pull it off, since the last Democrat win there was in 1996.
His campaign told NBC the competition nationally remains a "slog", as the margin between him and Mr Trump is very close.
They are still "confident" of winning enough crucial battleground states to hit the 270 Electoral College (EC) votes needed to clinch the presidency.
While the results have not yet been officially announced, projections show Mr Trump is on course to hold on to Ohio, Florida, Iowa and Texas.
They will come as a serious blow to Mr Biden, who set his sights high on 'ruby red' targets but has failed to pull off the convincing, early win he will have hoped for.
But the Democrats are projected to retain control of the House of Representatives.
