President George Bush prepared to declare re-election victory today even though Democratic rival John Kerry refused to concede as results in the key state of Ohio remained uncertain.

Ohio has emerged as the most likely setting for any court fight that would put the close US presidential election into overtime, while armies of lawyers sent to other battleground states found themselves with little to do.

DEMOCRAT John Kerry kicked his presidential campaign into full gear yesterday when he selected former rival, the charismatic Southerner John Edwards, to be his running mate.