I'm the winner says Bush

AUSTIN - Republican George W. Bush claimed the United States presidency yesterday after Florida certified him the winner of its crucial 25 electoral votes.

Speaking in measured tones, the Texas governor opened with conciliatory language and a pledge to unite the country, but moved quickly to declare himself the victor in the protracted and bitter dispute over whether he or Democratic Vice-President Al Gore had won the November 7 election.

"The votes are counted, it is time for the votes to count," said Mr Bush as he called for an for an end to the legal battle over the Florida poll.

But the Gore camp vowed to fight on.

Mr Bush said: "The election was close, but tonight after a count, a recount and yet another manual recount, Secretary [Dick] Cheney and I are honoured and humbled to have won the state of Florida, which gives us the needed electoral votes to win the election.

"We will therefore undertake the responsibility of preparing to serve as America's next President and Vice-President."

On the likelihood of a Gore challenge to the result, Mr Bush said he "respectfully" asked the Vice-President to reconsider.

A challenge was "not the best route for America."

Mr Bush spoke after Florida secretary of state Katherine Harris declared him winner of the state poll by just 537 votes out of nearly six million cast.

Ms Harris, a Republican whose responsibilities include overseeing elections, has become the woman Democrats most love to hate.

In West Palm Beach, protesters have carried unflattering effigies of her, while Paul Begala, one of Mr Gore's aides, compared her to Cruella De Vil, the villain in The 101 Dalmatians.

Alan Dershowitz, a prominent Democrat and Harvard law professor, called her "a crook"and a writer in the normally politically correct Washington Post newspaper attacked her appearance, saying her lipstick was of "the creamy sort that smears all over a coffee cup and leaves smudges on shirt collars."

Before certifying the result, Ms Harris further angered the Democrats by ruling that hand recounts of votes in Palm Beach County would not be included in the results.

Then, in a brief ceremony yesterday, she and the two other members of the state canvassing commission signed the returns declaring Mr Bush the winner.

The exact results were 2,912,790 votes for Mr Bush and 2,912,253 for Mr Gore. With Florida's 25 Electoral College votes, Mr Bush exceeds the 270 needed to win the presidency by a mere two votes.

Immediately afterwards, Democratic vice-presidential nominee Joseph Lieberman said the Democrats would contest the result.

"It is in our nation's interest that the winner in Florida is truly the person who got the most votes. We do not know who would prevail after a full and fair count of every legal ballot.

"How can we teach our children that every vote counts if we are not willing to make a good-faith effort to count every vote?"

Before the Florida announcement, Mr Gore told a New York Times interviewer that the Supreme Court should have the final say. He is expected to make a statement this morning.

The battle is by no means over and the next few days will be crucial in the struggle to win popular support. Both candidates have serious difficulties to overcome.

While Mr Bush had a crucial win yesterday, the New York Times warned that he should not try to leapfrog the legal process by styling himself President-elect.

On the other hand, Mr Gore risks being seen as a sore loser as the court struggle drags on.

Last night, a Washington Post/ABC News poll found large-scale support for Mr Gore to finally concede the election. Within the Democratic Party there are reported to be growing schisms over the wisdom of continuing the fight.

"It is increasingly likely the public is going to want this election brought to a close," said Senator Robert Torricelli, of New Jersey.

Mr Gore's legal challenge will go before the Supreme Court this week and the court is expected to rule before December 12 when Florida, along with the other states, must nominate its delegates to the Electoral College which finally chooses the President.

The Electoral College votes on December 18 and votes are tallied on January 6 in front of both Houses of Congress. The new President is due to be sworn in on January 20.

Latest tallies from the Associated Press show 2.9 per cent of the total votes cast in Florida were invalid. In the controversial counties of Palm Beach and Miami-Dade, the figures were 6.4 per cent and 4.4 per cent respectively.

By comparison, the rate of invalid votes at the 1999 New Zealand general election was under 1 per cent.

- AGENCIES

Herald Online feature: America votes

The US Electoral College

Florida Dept. of State Division of Elections

Supreme Court of Florida

Supreme Court of the United States

Democrats and Republicans wage war online