The US Congress formally certified President George W. Bush's re-election Thursday after voting to reject a challenge from a group of Democrats to the Ohio electoral vote count.

The House of Representatives and Senate met Thursday afternoon in a constitutionally mandated session to rubber stamp the result of the Nov. 2 election. But the confirmation was delayed by nearly four hours after some Democrats filed an objection to the result, citing voting problems.

The Republicans-controlled Congress voted in joint session to reject the challenge, which was just the second time since 1877.

Ohio Representatives Stephanie Tubbs Jones and California Senator Barbara Boxer, who filed the objection over alleged widespread "irregularities," said the move was not designed to overturn the election result, but to draw attention to the need for aggressive election reform.

Republicans dismissed the challenge as a stunt, noting that specific allegations of voting problems in Ohio have been investigated by journalists and found to be untrue. White House press secretary Scott McClellan dismissed the challenge as "partisan politics."

Senator John Kerry, who conceded defeat after shortly challenging the Ohio result in the election, did not take part in the protest. "Our legal teams on the ground have found no evidence that would change the outcome of the election," he said Wednesday in a letter to lawmakers.

Source: Xinhua