Manuel Andres Lopez Obrador

Mexico's leftist opposition leader said Sunday he will never recognize his conservative rival as president, and promised to set up an alternative government.

Manuel Andres Lopez Obrador called on his supporters to sustain their resistance to an election process that appears ready to name Felipe Calderon the president-elect of Mexico.

Lopez Obrador said he and his supporters will never recognize a president-elect who is illegitimate. He said he is going for deep change, to transform Mexico into a new country that is fair and honorable.

Last week Mexico's top electoral court threw out Lopez Obrador's allegations of massive vote fraud in July's presidential election, handing almost certain victory to Calderon.

The court will declare the winner of the election by September 6.

On Friday, leftist lawmakers protesting the vote count prevented President Vicente Fox from delivering his state of the nation speech to Congress. Mr. Fox delivered the message instead on national television.

Calderon led Lopez Obrador in the official vote count by less than 0.6 percent.