OSCE observer mission accuses Trump of 'gross abuse of office'

The head of an international observer mission to the elections in the United States has accused President Donald Trump of a "gross abuse of office" after his allegations of fraud in the election and that he was being cheated out of victory.

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which monitors elections throughout Western countries, expressed concern over attempts by the Trump campaign to stop vote counting, the election is “tarnished by legal uncertainty and unprecedented attempts to undermine public trust.”

Democratic US presidential candidate Joe Biden is nearing 270 electoral votes after key victories in Michigan and Wisconsin, while Trump demanded a recount and threatened legal action.

Victories in those Midwestern states gave Biden a critical boost in the race to obtain the magic number needed to win the White House. Trump is lagging far behind.

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"The most disturbing thing was that with presidential fanfare of the White House, that is, with all the insignia of power, the American commander-in-chief called for an end to the count because of his purported victory," said Michael Georg Link, head of the short-term OSCE election observer mission.

"That was a gross abuse of office," he said, adding that Trump's "claims of manipulation are baseless.”

He added that while the election was “hard-fought and competitive,” with a high degree of engagement by election workers and citizens, but “baseless allegations of systematic deficiencies, notably by the incumbent president, including on election night, harm public trust in democratic institutions.”

“Nobody – no politician, no elected official – should limit the people’s right to vote,” Link said, referring to Trump’s attempts to suppress voting.

“Coming after such a highly dynamic campaign, making sure that every vote is counted is a fundamental obligation for all branches of government,” he added.

Trump told supporters on Election Night when votes were still being counted that there had been “a major fraud in our nation” and vowed to contest the election results to the Supreme Court.

“We are up BIG, but they are trying to STEAL the Election,” he tweeted.

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Freedom House is a US government-funded non-profit that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights. It also slammed the conduct of the US election.

“The president’s premature claim that he won and that victory was being stolen from him creates baseless doubts about the legitimacy of the election,” said Freedom House President Michael Abramowitz.

“As the counting process and any adjudication of disputes continues, politicians, journalists, and other public figures should avoid using inflammatory language that may incite violence. We all need to wait for ballots to be counted and results to be confirmed,” he added.

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