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Berlusconi Fares Better than Many Expected

As counting continued in the Italian election on Tuesday, exit polls suggested a narrow win for current Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi`s center-right coalition, giving him a slender lead. Projections based on initial results suggested that Mr. Berlusconi`s center-right alliance might retain a majority in both houses of parliament.

With 44 percent of the votes counted for, the Nexus Research Institute gave Berlusconi`s coalition a slight 49.9 percent to 49.6 percent edge over challenger Romano Prodi in the 630-seat lower house.

According to international reports of correspondents, exit polls in previous Italian elections have often turned out to be inaccurate. Still, early estimates indicate the turnout of voters to be about 85 percent - higher in the north than the south, with the lowest turnout being on the islands of Sardinia and Sicily.