Republican vice presidential nominee Dick Cheney called on Al Gore to concede the US presidential election Sunday, almost one month after Americans went to the polls.
"I do think that it's time for him to concede," Cheney said in an interview with NBC's "Meet the Press" talk show.
"So far he has chosen not to do that, to pursue other avenues and clearly that's his prerogative," Cheney said, adding, "I think history would regard him in a better light if he were to bring this to a close."
Democratic candidate Gore is contesting in the courts his Republican rival George W. Bush's certified victory in Florida by a mere 537 votes. A win in the state will decide the outcome of the presidential poll.
Cheney, who heads Bush's transition team installed in offices just outside Washington, said that he believed the disputed election would soon come to a close. Cheney raised the alarm, however, if the dispute dragged on further.
He said the transition schedule was already tight and we are "rapidly approaching the point where there will be damage" to the next US administration.
"What we have is we have had votes, they have been cast, there's a process for counting, a process for recounting, a process for certification," he said.
"We have been through that process, and we now ought to get on with the process of putting together the new government" -- WASHINGTON (AFP)
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