DHAKA: President Donald Trump has promised a “major investigation into voter fraud”, after making claims about millions of illegal ballots.

The new president said the inquiry would include “those registered to vote in two states, those who are illegal”, reports the BBC.

Trump also said the probe would focus on “those registered to vote who are dead (and many for a long time)”.

He has alleged that up to five million illegal votes were cast for Hillary Clinton, but has offered no evidence.

“Depending on results, we will strengthen up voting procedures!” Trump said of his planned inquiry.

Trump is later expected to sign immigration-related decrees, including on his planto build a wall along the US border with Mexico.

The president first made the claim about voter fraud in a late November tweet.

Fact-checkers have rejected it as untrue and Republican election officials in key states have said they found no proof of fraudulent voting.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer said on Tuesday that Trump continues to believe it, “based on studies and evidence that people have presented to him”.

Spicer was repeatedly pressed to specify such research, but failed to do so.

On Tuesday (January 24), the National Association of Secretaries of State said it had confidence in the “systemic integrity of our election process” and was not aware of any evidence related to Trump's claims.

Hilary Clinton, the rival Democratic candidate, received nearly three million votes more than Trump, who won the presidency by prevailing in so-called swing states.

On Tuesday, Republicans admonished Trump and urged him to drop the matter a day after the closed doors meeting with congressional leaders.

Independent Senator Bernie Sanders said it was “nonsensical” and he feared Trump was paving the way for Republican governors to “go forward with voter suppression”.

BDST: 2142 HRS, JAN 25, 2017
AP