ITALY: PRODI CLAIMS VICTORY - Latest Election Returns

At a little after 10PM EST tonight, Reuters moved the following dispatch from Rome:

"ROME (Reuters) - Centre-left leader Romano Prodi (right) claimed a knife- edge victory in Italy's general election on Tuesday, but Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's allies disputed the result and demanded a "scrupulous" check of the count.Twelve hours after polling stations closed, Prodi declared that his broad coalition had secured a majority in both houses of parliament ...

"The centre-left said it was on course to win a one-seat majority in the upper house  (Senate). In the lower house, official data showed Prodi had taken 49.81 percent of the vote to 49.74 percent for Berlusconi's House of Freedoms Alliance. Under Italy's new electoral system, the ballot winners are automatically granted 340 of the lower house's 630 seats no matter how small their margin of victory in the popular vote, with the runners up getting some 277 seats.....

"Italy's two houses of parliament duplicate each other's functions and a government needs the support of both to take office and to pass laws. A one-seat majority in the Senate would leave Prodi vulnerable to the demands of junior partners and would turn every vote into an effective confidence motion. "We were on a razor's edge, but in the end victory was ours and now it is time to turn the page," said Prodi, who won a 1996 general election but only survived two years in office before being ousted by disgruntled communist allies...."

The BBC, however, reported a few minutes earlier that "Mr Berlusconi's coalition currently has a lead of one seat in the Senate, with six seats voted for by expatriates still to be declared. "  With Berlusconi's forces demanding a review of challenged ballots, more days of political uncertainty in Italy seem ahead. Stay tuned--DIRELAND will keep you informed of further developments.