After a long and dramatic night Italy's general election result seem to give the House to the center left, with a majority of 314 seats against 277, and the center right taking the Senate by just one seat. This situation could be overturned depending on the outcome of votes from Italians abroad.
The House election was extremely close with the center left winning 49.805% of the vote compared to 49.735% for the center right, a difference of just over 25,000 votes.
The center right has already said it will demand a review of the House results.
Because of the 'majority prize' awarded by Italy's new election law, the center left will have 341 seats against 277 for the center right, with 12 seats to be assigned based on the tally from abroad. In the Senate, the center right won 50.203% of the vote against 48.952% for the center left. The 'majority prize' in the Senate is on a regional basis and the center right ended up with 155 seats compared to 154 for the center left.
The six seats representing Italians abroad have thus become pivotal because they could in theory tip the balance in favor of the center left and thus give it a slim majority in parliament.
Voter turnout in Italy was at a record high of 83.6%.
