A state court decision Friday ensured that there will be no declared winner in Minnesota’s disputed 2008 Senate election until a state judicial panel rules on vote-counting disputes, which have delayed a final outcome for more than four months.

The Minnesota Supreme Court on Friday denied a petition by Al Franken , the Democratic nominee in the deadlocked contest with Republican Norm Coleman, to issue an election certificate so that he can be seated provisionally. Franken issued the request on Jan. 13, and the court deliberated for more than a month before denying his petition.

The state’s election canvassing board certified Franken as the winner Jan. 5 by a razor-thin 225-vote margin out of 2.9 million votes cast. But Coleman — who ran as the incumbent seeking a second Senate term — filed suit to overturn that call, arguing that there were irregularities in the vote tally.

Although the Minnesota seat has been vacant for more than two months, Senate Republicans have balked at seating Franken until a winner in the race is officially certified with the signatures of Gov. Tim Pawlenty , a Republican, and Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie.

Senate Democratic leaders have limited their maneuvering room by their response to other Senate election disputes. Democrats, for example, cited state certification issues in January when they delayed seating Illinois Democrat Roland Burris, following his controversial appointment to the Senate by scandal-plagued Democratic Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich .

In light of that standoff, attorneys for Franken argued in court last month that Pawlenty should issue the certification. Franken argued that if the legal proceedings were to overturn the recount results, the court could rescind the certification and allow Coleman to be seated.

The state declared Franken the winner on Jan. 5, the same day that the 111th Congress convened. Coleman filed suit challenging the results the next day. The trial or “election contest” is now in its sixth week.

The state Supreme Court decision issued Friday backs up the stance taken by Pawlenty and Ritchie, who refused to sign the certificate of election. They cite a provision of state law that requires certification to be delayed until legal challenges to the count have been resolved.

“Because we conclude that neither state nor federal law requires issuance of a certificate of election before the election contest is completed, we deny the petition,” the court wrote.

The Coleman campaign hailed the decision as a victory. Coleman attorney Ben Ginsberg said “this wise ruling” will ensure that Franken, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and New York Sen. Charles E. Schumer , chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee during the 2008 campaign, “cannot short-circuit Minnesota Law in their partisan power play.”

Though Reid has stopped short of trying to seat Franken, he has repeatedly described him as the winner. Last week, Reid reiterated his call for Coleman to concede defeat.

“There’s going to come a time when Coleman’s going to have to recognize that he’s lost — he’s lost this election,” Reid said. “This should have been over a long time ago.”

Republicans, however, have shown no signs of giving up the fight on Coleman’s behalf. Texas Sen. John Cornyn — who is heading up planning for the GOP’s national Senate campaign efforts as chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee — said at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C., Feb. 27, that helping Coleman secure re-election in the 2008 Minnesota contest was the party’s first task. “I am still calling him ‘old number 42,’” Cornyn said referring to the number of Republicans who would hold seats in the Senate should the recount litigation deliver Coleman back his seat.