Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi declined Tuesday to acknowledge defeat in Italy's general elections, claiming numerous irregularities in ballots cast by Italians living abroad and raising the possibility that the overseas vote could be annulled.
The interior minister had just declared center-left leader Romano Prodi the winner of both parliamentary chambers when Berlusconi made his remarks. Prodi's Union coalition secured 158 Senate seats to Berlusconi's House of Freedoms coalition's 156, with the Senate outcome determined by results from six overseas constituencies.
Berlusconi's Forza Italia party called for a recount, pointing to an official margin of roughly 25,000 votes separating the two camps and noting that approximately 43,000 ballots remained contested. Party coordinator Sandro Bondi argued the results were not yet final in either chamber.
Berlusconi, who has held power since 2001, left open the possibility of a broad governing partnership modeled on Germany's grand coalition, should the parliamentary dispute produce a deadlocked legislature. He said no outcome could be recognized until a clear and definitive ruling was issued.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in April 2006, in its own words.