Bush Announced Winner of Florida Votes, Gore Party to Contest

Florida election officials on November 26 declared Republican George W. Bush the winner of the state's presidential ballots, but Democratic Al Gore's campaign moved quickly to contest the outcome.

In a brief ceremony in Tallahassee, Florida, Secretary of State Katherine Harris and two other members of the state canvassing commission signed the returns, declaring that Bush won the state's 25 electoral votes with a margin of 537 votes in the popular votes.

Harris, a Republican and co-chairman of Bush campaign in the state, said that Bush gained 2,912,790 votes while Gore got 2,912, 253 votes.

"On behalf of the State Elections Canvassing Commission and in accordance with the laws of the state of Florida, I hereby declare Gov. George W. Bush the winner of Florida's 25 electoral votes for the President of the United States," Harris said.

Minutes after the announcement, however, Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Lieberman told reporters in Washington that they had no choice but to contest the outcome.

"From the beginning of this extraordinary period of time, Vice President Gore and I have asked only that the votes that were cast on Election Day be counted," Lieberman said.

"This evening, the secretary of state of Florida has decided to certify what by any reasonable standard is an incomplete and inaccurate count of the votes cast in the state of Florida," he added.

He noted that "It is in our nation's interest that the winner in Florida is truly the person got the most votes."

Former US secretary of state James Baker, who represents Bush, told reporters in Tallahassee that it is an "extraordinary" approach to contest the outcome of the election, urging Gore campaign to drop any legal challenges to the results.

"It is time to honor the will of the people," Baker said, "At some point, there must be closure."

It was reported that Bush is expected to make a statement later Sunday while Gore will make a national statement on Monday.






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