M A I N   N E W S

Bush camp alleges fraud

AUSTIN, Nov 19 (AFP) — Republican George W. Bush’s campaign has charged that multiple acts of fraud have marred manual recounts in Florida that Democrat Al Gore hopes will hand him victory in the disputed White House race.

“We now have clear and compelling evidence from eyewitnesses that this manual recount process is fundamentally flawed and is no longer recounting but is distorting, reinventing and miscounting the true intentions of the voters of Florida,” said Bush spokeswoman Karen Hughes yesterday.

Ms Hughes alleged that Gore supporters sought to throw out one-third of the overseas ballots, many of them from military personnel who tend to favour the Republicans.

The final uncertified tally of overseas absentee ballots tripled Mr Bush’s lead over Mr Gore to 930 votes in Florida, whose 25 electoral college votes will decide which of them will reach the winning total of 270.

A Bush aide, who asked not to be identified, said the total of discarded armed forces votes was between 400 and 1,500 ballots.

The Florida Supreme Court barred final certification of the Florida vote pending tomorrow’s hearing to assess whether the manual recounts should be added to certified results from all of the state’s 67 counties and the overseas vote.

WASHINGTON: The Republican camp has accused Mr Al Gore of subverting the will of the us military in order to gain power.

In a stunning rhetorical blast bordering on a charge of treason, the Bush campaign yesterday said Gore had “gone to war” against soldiers stationed abroad through a Democratic scheme to throw their votes out in Florida.

“We are concerned that a targeted effort by the Democratic Party sought to throw out as many as a third of the overseas absentee ballots” received in Florida, Bush campaign spokeswoman Karen Hughes said in Austin, Texas.

Meanwhile Republican George W. Bush emerged with a 930 votes lead over his Democratic rival Al Gore in Florida after a final tabulation of the overseas absentee ballots.