Q and A: Is it over yet?

Republican George W Bush has announced plans to take office, but the saga of the US presidential elections is still not over. BBC News Online explains why it is taking so long, and what might happen next.

Has Bush won the presidency?

Republican candidate George W Bush has been certified as the winner in Florida's presidential election after a protracted battle with Democratic contender, Al Gore.

As Florida carries 25 electoral college votes, and the race is so close, the winner in Florida is expected to take the White House.

However, the Democrats are contesting the Florida results in three counties, where they say they could have picked up crucial votes if more time had been given for the manual recount, and if 'indented ballots' had been included. The indented papers are the ones where a clean hole has not been punched but where a mark can be detected.

The official results are an enormous blow for the Gore campaign: In all the counts and recounts in Florida, there was never a moment when Mr Gore held a state-wide lead.

What is happening in the courts?

In the courts, the Gore campaign is fighting on three fronts, and Mr Bush is appealing to the Supreme Court for a rapid conclusion.

• In Miami Dade, the Gore campaign will ask that the results of a hand count of 388 ballots - which gave Gore an increase of 156 votes - be included in the final results. It is also contesting the canvassing board's decision not to finish the recount, which included some 10,000 'undervote' ballots - the ones discarded by the automatic counting machines.

• In Nassau County, the Democrats are challenging the makeup of the canvassing board. They say one member was inexplicably replaced by someone ineligible to serve. The board then voted to discard results that had been previously certified on the machine recount.

• Finally, the Gore campaign will contest Palm Beach County results, where a request to extend the deadline by a few hours for manual recounts was turned down. The county also used a stricter standard for counting indented votes - which will also be challenged.

• Meanwhile, Mr Bush is taking his opposition to all manual recounts to the Federal Supreme Court, the highest court in the country.

• A group of Democrat voters has launched a legal complaint over the so-called butterfly ballot paper in Palm Beach County which it says was confusing.

• Since election night there have been some allegations of voting irregularities, which could form the basis of future legal challenges.

Will the Supreme Court ruling be decisive?

The Supreme Court is due to rule of Friday on the Republican appeal against hand recounts in Florida.

If it decides to uphold the complaint, then Mr Gore will have to drop most of his challenges. But challenges over the confusing butterfly ballot in Palm Beach and the machine count in Nassau will still be valid.

If the Supreme Court does not find in favour of the Republicans, little will have changed.

Republicans have argued that a manual recount is unconstitutional. They say that a manual count is unfair on voters elsewhere in Florida because they will not all have been treated in a uniform way.

Republican party officials have also alleged a series of irregularities in the hand recount process:

• A Democrat official is alleged to have eaten some chad - the tiny pieces of paper which should be punched out when a voter makes a choice.

• Ballots for Mr Bush have, according to Republican observers, been placed on piles for Mr Gore.

• It is claimed that ballots have been dropped on the floor and tampered with by finger nails and jewellery.

• Republicans also claim that the more a ballot is mechanically or manually handled, the less reliable it is.

What is the public mood?

In the battle for public opinion, the Bush campaign is hoping the prolonged battle will pressurise Mr Gore to concede defeat quickly.

But the Gore campaign says it has won the popular vote, and that the electorate will want to see the votes being counted accurately.

A New York Times/CBS poll on 16 November found that six out of 10 Americans are prepared to wait for a result.

However, the public mood may have changed since the certified results on Sunday night.

Why did Miami Dade stop the recount?

Miami Dade stopped its manual recount last Wednesday, citing insufficient time to complete it before the deadline.

Its decision was seen as a major blow to the Gore campaign, which is seeking to take a case to the Florida Supreme Court demanding that it resume.

The Democrats are contending that the vote was stopped because counting officials felt intimidated by Republican demonstrations outside.

Is there a limit to how long this can go on?

There are certain crucial dates looming. The first is 12 December when the Florida electoral college meets to declare who it is going to vote for.

On the 18 December, the electoral colleges across the US meet to vote.

On 6 January, Congress counts electoral college votes. If there is no winner, the House of Representatives chooses the president and the Senate chooses the vice-president.

The next important date is the inauguration of the 43rd president of the United States, scheduled for 20 January 2001.

If the electoral system fails to produce a president by then, the speaker of the House of Representatives, currently Republican Dennis Hastert, becomes acting president. The House of Representatives will then vote on who will assume the presidency.