Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi Losing Election Challenge
14 April 2006
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's challenge of this week's parliamentary elections appears to be failing as judges continue to check thousands of contested ballots.
Italian news outlets are reporting the recount will not significantly change the official results of the election. The center-left coalition of opposition leader Romano Prodi won a majority in both houses of parliament - but only a razor-thin margin in the lower chamber.
Newspapers also say the number of disputed ballots being examined is far fewer than the 43,000 previously indicated by the Interior Ministry.
Some supporters of Mr. Berlusconi have claimed there are 4,000 votes that should have gone to the prime minister. But other allies have begun to raise doubts that the results will change in his favor.
If Prodi prevails in the recount, it could be weeks before he takes office. Italy's president must give the head of the winning coalition a mandate to govern. Current president Carlo Azeglio Ciampi leaves office in mid-May, and says he will leave that task up to his successor.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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