A razor-thin margin in Florida early Wednesday forced a recount that left the outcome of the US presidential election, pitting Democrat Al Gore against Republican George W. Bush, in flux.
The following is a chronology of events that saw Vice President Gore concede the election, only to retract the move once television projections showed the race in Florida to be too close to call:
-- 0045 GMT: Bush takes the lead after winning in five states and 54 electoral votes. Gore has one state under his belt and three electoral votes.
-- 0054 GMT: Gore is projected by TV networks to win Florida, considered critical to his victory plan, but Bush remains ahead overall.
-- 0150 GMT: Gore wins Pennsylvania, another crucial state, and takes the overall lead.
-- 0258 GMT: In a dramatic reversal, CNN says Florida is too close to call and may not have gone to Gore after all.
-- 0306 GMT: Bush refuses to concede either Florida or Pennsylvania and tells viewers: "I feel fine."
-- 0338 GMT: All major US television networks revise their Florida projections.
-- 0406 GMT: Gore takes California.
-- 0515 GMT: Bush pulls ahead with victories in Arizona, Nevada and President Bill Clinton's home state of Arkansas.
-- 0618 GMT: Television networks struggle to explain their missteps in Florida, citing suspect data.
-- 0730-0745 GMT: Gore calls Bush to concede the election and boards a motorcade for a 10-minute journey to War Memorial Plaza in Nashville, Tennessee to deliver a concession speech to his supporters.
-- 0745-0755 GMT: Two blocks away from the plaza, Gore field director Michael Whouley pages traveling chief of staff Michael Feldman to tell him that official Florida tally now shows Bush up by just 6,000 votes, with many ballots left to be counted.
Feldman calls Gore campaign chairman William Daley on a cellular phone to let him know what is happening. By the time the Gore motorcade reaches the plaza, the Democrat is down by just under 1,000 votes.
-- 0815 GMT: Daley calls Bush campaign chairman Don Evans to apprise him of the situation.
-- 0830-0845 GMT: Gore makes a second telephone call to Bush lasting just a few minutes to say he is not giving up, preferring to wait for all the results from Florida. "They had a brief conversation which shall remain private," said Gore spokesman Douglas Hattaway.
-- 0905 GMT: Two television networks retract their reports that Florida had gone to Bush. A Florida election official announces a recount, with the two candidates separated by just several hundred votes.
-- 1010 GMT: Gore wins Wisconsin but Florida is still up for grabs and more than six hours after the last polls have closed, the United States remains without a president-elect -- WASHINGTON (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
