Vice-President Al Gore and Governor George Bush have sent high-powered teams of observers to monitor the recount in Florida which will have to decide which of them will be the next US president. There have been allegations of fraud in the election in that state which could yet affect the result.
Mr Bush said yesterday he expected that his small lead in Florida would be confirmed in the recount, which is to be completed later today.
Mr Gore, in his first public reaction, cautioned that the question of who won the election must be resolved "without any rush to judgment".
He said it was an "extraordinary moment in our democracy" and that what was at stake was "the fundamental fairness of the process as a whole."
This cryptic phrase could be seen as a reference to the fact that he is ahead in the popular vote. But he immediately went on to say: "It is the winner of the electoral college that will be the next President."
If Mr Bush's lead in Florida is confirmed, he will win its 25 electoral votes and become president while Mr Gore may still remain ahead in the popular vote.
Mr Gore's team of observers includes former Democratic secretary of state, Mr Warren Christopher, while Mr Bush has also sent a former Republican secretary of state, Mr James Baker.
As the recount got under way, Mr Bush was ahead by about 1,800 votes. But observers said this did not take account of an unknown number of absentee ballots coming from overseas.
Mr Gore was very narrowly ahead in the popular vote across the US and in the electoral college which actually elects the president. In the popular vote according to Reuters, Mr Gore had polled 48,900,828 votes or 48.3 per cent while Mr Bush had polled 48,725,474 votes or 48.1 per cent.
Mr Gore had 260 electoral votes or 10 short of the amount needed to be elected President. Mr Bush had 246 electoral votes but if his win in Florida is confirmed, he will receive that state's 25 electoral votes and be proclaimed the winner of the election.
Mr Bush would then begin working on the transition between the Clinton administration and his one. He would be inaugurated as president on January 20th.
Mr Clinton commented briefly yesterday on the election situation, saying it showed the importance of everyone casting their vote. The American people had spoken but it would take a little time to learn what exactly they had said.
The President said he had spoken with Mr Gore who had laughed and been in good form as they discussed "the unpredictability of life". Mr Gore was pleased he had won a majority of the popular vote.
The previous closest election was in 1960 when John F. Kennedy defeated Richard Nixon by 118,574 popular votes out of 68 million cast but Kennedy won the electoral college by 303 votes to 219 votes.
The confusion over the election night count was blamed largely on the television networks which were predicting results in each state on the basis of exit polls. The networks caused consternation in the Bush camp when they announced soon after the polls closed in Florida it had been won by Mr Gore.
Governor Jeb Bush of Florida who was following the results with his brother in Austin quickly rejected this prediction following discussions with officials in Florida but the networks did not withdraw it until over two hours later. Then, much later in the night, they predicted Mr Bush would win Florida by 50,000 votes and it was on this basis Mr Gore conceded victory.
But minutes before Mr Gore was to appear before his disappointed supporters in Nashville, Tennessee to admit defeat, he was advised that Mr Bush's margin in Florida has suddenly slumped to several hundred votes and a recount had been ordered.
Green Party candidate Mr Ralph Nader, who polled 2.6 million votes is being blamed by many Democrats for depriving Mr Gore of an outright victory over Mr Bush by splitting his vote. Mr Nader failed to win the five per cent of the vote to qualify him for federal funding in the next election.
Mr Bush's large sweep of the southern states included victories in Tennessee and Arkansas, the home states of Vice-President Gore and President Clinton.
In the Congressional elections, the Republicans have retained control of the House of Representatives and the Senate but by the narrowest of margins. This is a disappointment for the Democrats who needed only a net gain of seven seats to win control of the House for the first time since 1994. The wafer-thin margins mean whoever is elected President will find it difficult to enact ambitious legislation.