ROME, April 10: The result of Italy’s general election hung in the balance on Monday, as one pollster said partial returns suggested Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi might win a shock majority in both houses of parliament.

A second pollster predicted that centre-left challenger Romano Prodi would just hold off Mr Berlusconi, leaving the result of the two-day vote on a knife-edge.

Exit polls at the end of the two-day ballot said Mr Prodi had won the election, taking between 50-54 per cent of the vote. But as the count proceeded, Nexus pollsters said the centre-right was advancing and could eventually end up the winner.

Centre-left leaders reacted with dismay and disbelief as the polls changed direction, revealing a country split in two after five years of Berlusconi government.

Centre-right leaders were cautious, saying they would wait for official results due later on Monday before commenting.

Nexus said that on the basis of its analysis of returns six hours after polls closed, the centre-right was on course to win 158 of the 315 Senate seats up for grabs.

In the lower house, Nexus predicted the centre-right would take 50 per cent of the vote against 49.5 per cent for Mr Prodi.

Under the terms of a highly controversial reform of the electoral system introduced by Berlusconi last year, the winner in the 630-seat lower house is automatically assigned 340 seats to enable it to control the chamber.—Reuters