Bersani’s center-left bloc leading Italy general election polls – reportFebruary 25, 2013 - 18:52 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Early exit polls from Italy's general election show a lead for the centre-left bloc led by Pier Luigi Bersani. The polls suggest Bersani's alliance has taken around 34% of the vote for parliament's lower house, ahead of Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right group with 29%, BBC News reported citing Sky Italia. Beppe Grillo's protest movement is projected to take nearly 20% of votes. The two-day vote is seen as crucial for efforts to tackle Italy's economic problems, as well as for the eurozone. The election was called two months ahead of schedule, after Berlusconi's party withdrew its support for Mario Monti's technocratic government. The first results based on partial vote counts are due in the next few hours. If the exit polls are confirmed, they would echo the opinion polls prior to the election which made Bersani's centre-left Democratic Party (PD) a consistent frontrunner at nearly 35%. Bersani, a former Communist, has pledged to continue with the tough reforms of Mario Monti's technocratic government, but suggests current European policy needs to do more to promote growth and jobs. Berlusconi's People of Freedom (PdL) centre-right alliance had narrowed the PD lead in the final weeks of campaigning - and may yet prevent Bersani from winning an overall majority in the Senate, which is being fought on a region-by-region basis. The fiercely anti-establishment Five Star movement of former comedian Beppe Grillo drew wide and growing support during the campaign, and threatened to be the major upset for the election. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |