A board in the northern U.S. state of Minnesota has certified election results showing Democrat Al Franken won the November contest for a U.S. Senate seat.
The former television comedian and liberal satirist ran a tight race against incumbent Republican Norm Coleman. The outcome has been subject to nearly two months of uncertainty as votes were recounted. Monday's results say Franken won the seat by 225 votes, out of nearly three million cast.
Coleman's aides say they will mount a legal challenge to the results. They say some ballots were mishandled and others were left out of the recount.
Meanwhile, Roland Burris, appointed to succeed Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate, is heading to Washington to claim his seat. But U.S. Senate leaders have said they will not accept anyone named by Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, who is accused of trying to profit from the process.
Illinois state officials have refused to certify Burris's appointment.
The governor has denied any wrongdoing and said his legal troubles should not reflect on Burris.
At a Chicago airport surrounded by reporters, Burris said Monday if he is turned away from the Senate, his lawyers will take up the issue. He described himself as the "solution to the problem," saying repeatedly that he is the legal first-term senator from Illinois.
Congress is to convene on Tuesday.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
