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Top Italian court confirms Romano Prodi's poll victory

A top Italian court yesterday confirmed center-left leader Romano Prodi's slim electoral victory over Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Italian Sky TV news said.

The reported confirmation by the Court of Cassation, a top Italian court in Rome, comes after the review of some 5,200 ballots that were not immediately included in the overall count because the voters' intentions were not clear.

The court said an official announcement would not be made until later yesterday.

Prodi said he would not comment until after the official announcement, the ANSA news agency reported.

Prodi won a razor-thin majority in the April 9-10 vote, winning control of both houses of parliament.

For days, the former prime minister and ex-EU chief has claimed victory, urging Berlusconi to concede defeat.

But the conservative leader has so far remained defiant.

The confirmation was widely expected after the Interior Ministry last week reduced the number of the contested ballots from more than 80,000 to 5,200, dashing Berlusconi's hopes of overturning the election result.

In any case, it will be weeks before Prodi can take over as prime minister.

It is up to the president to give the mandate to form a government. However, the current president's term expires mid-next month, and he has indicated he wants to leave the task to his successor.

Prodi has been meeting with allies in recent days, including yesterday, as he prepares to establish a new government.

In a statement on Tuesday, Berlusconi's center-right coalition contended that in the rush to get information to the high court for the ballot review, lower courts may have made errors. A leader of the prime minister's party warned of unspecified legal action if doubts over the ballots remain.
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