Italian Supreme Court announced Wednesday that center-left
leader Romano Prodi had won last week's general election,
dismissing complaints by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi that the
vote was marred by irregularities.
The confirmation by the Court of Cassation officially ended a
stalemate over the razor-thin majority won by the center-left,
after Berlusconi's refusal to concede defeat.
After the confirmation Prodi said that Italians should have no
doubts about his electoral win.
"Finally the electoral affair is over," Prodi said at a press
conference. "Italians have no more doubts about our victory."
According to the supreme court's statement, Prodi won the
election in the lower house by 24,755 votes. Provisional results
last week said the winning margin was a slightly higher 25,224
votes.
But under an electoral law pushed through parliament by
Berlusconi's government, Prodi's coalition is guaranteed 63 extra
seats in the event of a close finish. In the Senate, it will have a
two-seat majority.
Under the Italian constitution, it is the president's job to
formally appoint a new government. President Carlo Ciampi's term
ends on May 18 and the 85-year-old president has made it clear that
he wants his successor - who will be chosen by parliament in voting
on May 12 to 13 - to name the new premier. As a result, Prodi's
government is not expected to take office until May.
(Xinhua News Agency April 20, 2006)
