Mexico City ? Mexico’s leftist presidential candidate promised on Sunday to maintain protest camps that have paralyzed downtown Mexico City until at least September, unless the nation’s top electoral court orders a total recount in the still-disputed election.

Settling in for a long battle, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told supporters who launched the protest camps two weeks ago that “we could be here for years” if the tribunal does not grant his demand for a full recount. He also promised to spark a national leftist movement at a Sept. 16 convention.

The camps have brought Mexico City’s cultural and financial center to a near standstill, forcing workers to hike to their jobs and causing traffic jams across the city. The protesters are angry at an official but still uncertified vote count that gave the conservative ruling party candidate Felipe Calderon a slim lead in the July 2 election.

The Federal Electoral Tribunal ordered a partial recount of 9 percent of the polling places, which was to end Sunday. The court’s seven magistrates will review the results and release them later this month.