Issue may drag on despite Florida certification

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, NOV. 26. With the clock ticking away in Florida towards the 5 p.m. deadline today, after which the Secretary of State, Ms. Katherine Harris, is expected to make a final certification of the results as directed by the State Supreme Court, the two campaigns are digging in for the next phase.

The disputed ballots that were counted through the night in Palm Beach county and earlier in Broward have definitely gone to the advantage of the Vice-President, Mr. Al Gore. As of early Sunday morning, the Texas Governor, Mr. George Bush, is seeing that his official lead of 930 votes has been trimmed considerably. He now posts an unofficial lead of a mere 437 votes.

The Vice-President's campaign is hoping that when the final hour approaches, Mr.Gore would have edged past the Texas Governor. By the same token, the Bush campaign is also hopeful that the Secretary of State will be able to say that its candidate has stayed on the top. Whatever the legal ramifications of today's announcement, the certification of a winner will have a political angle to it.

The Gore campaign has made it known that the certification of Ms. Harris would not be the last word. Rather, on Monday morning it will move State courts on Miami Dade county's decision to stop manual counting. Mr. Gore is expecting to pick up several hundred votes here, especially from the disputed bunch of about 10,000 ballots. The campaign is also going to dispute some of the ballots in Palm Beach county.

The Bush campaign is still trying to make as much noise as it can on the overseas military ballots and is trying to move as many county courts as possible. At least five counties are facing legal action forcing reviews. ``Ultimately they were not counting votes, but casting votes. It was not a process that is credible, trustworthy or fair,'' said the Governor of Montana, Mr. Marc Racicot.

Today's certification of the Florida vote will come after the Supreme Court stipulated deadline passes, provided there are no last-minute court orders to the contrary. The Bush campaign, in an effort to put pressure on the Vice President, as also in an attempt to sway public opinion to its side, would be having a victory party of sorts, if not a major celebration. But the intended pressure on the Vice-President to concede will depend on the margin of ``win'' that the Texas Governor likely to post.

Media reports say that aside from moving the Florida courts, Mr. Gore is expected to address the nation on Monday to explain why he was still pursuing the legal option.

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