Edwards made the statement in a short speech to a crowd gathering in downtown Boston as dispute emerged in the key state of Ohio in the presidential election.

"It has been a long night. But we've waited four years for this victory. We can wait one more night," Edwards said.

"Tonight, John and I are so proud of all of you who are here with us and all of you across the country who have stood with us in this campaign. John Kerry and I made a promise to the American people that in this election every vote would count and every vote would be counted," he said.

"Tonight we are keeping our word and we will fight for every vote," he added.

Fox and NBC, two major television networks, projected that Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush had won the 20 electoral votes in the critical state. But three other major TV networks said the result was too close to call there.