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Exit polls imminent as Italians polls about to close
Apr 14, 2008, 12:40 GMT
A nun reads the ballots before casting her vote at a polling station in downtown Rome during the Election Day on 13 April 2008. EPA/MARTINA CRISTOFANI
Rome - Italians were casting their last ballots before polls were scheduled to close Monday afternoon in elections that began Sunday.
Voting was scheduled to end at 3pm (1300 GMT). Italy's main broadcasters were expected to publish exit polls immediately after.
Preliminary results based on the actual count of votes were expected by Monday evening.
The first day of voting on Sunday registered a dip in voter turnout, with around 63 per cent of the 50 million eligible casting their ballots. In the last election in 2006, the percentage after the first day was around 67.
The Interior Ministry did not release voter-turnout information for Monday ahead of the closure of polls.
Centre-right opposition leader Silvio Berlusconi and former Rome mayor Walter Veltroni of the centre-left Democratic Party are the main contenders in the race, which comes just two years after Italy's last parliamentary election.
Mayoral races are also taking place in several cities, most notably in the capital Rome.
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