Italians head to the polls in cliffhanger general election

ROME: Voting was under way in Italy’s general election yesterday, amid uncertainty about who will prevail and signs of mounting support for a radical protest party which advocates a referendum on the country’s euro-zone exit.

Polling stations opened at 8am local time and were to close at 10pm. A second day of voting takes place today, from 7am to 3pm, with exit polls due immediately thereafter.

A total of 50 million Italians are eligible to vote, but analysts predict abstention rates of about 30 percent.

The front-runner in the contest is centre-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani, but his “Italy Common Good” coalition risks falling short of a majority in the upper house of parliament, the Senate.

Negotiations to form a government may be complicated by the likely success of comedian Beppe Grillo, whose antiestablishment Five Star Movement drew hundreds of thousands of people for its final rally on Friday in Rome.

The other main contenders are scandal-prone former premier Silvio Berlusconi, whose conservative coalition was trailing the centre-left before an opinion polls blackout came into force on February 8, and outgoing premier Mario Monti.

Monti’s centrist alliance is seen as the most likely coalition partner for Bersani, but the prospective deal is hindered by policy differences between Monti and Bersani’s leftist ally, Nichi Vendola. – Sapa-dpa