Boxes containing ballots found in Rome after election

Several boxes full of ballots for this week’s Italian general election were found in Rome today, officials said, after Premier Silvio Berlusconi rejected the centre-left’s victory claim and demanded a recount.

The boxes, at least five, carried the symbol of the Interior Ministry.

They included electoral material and were found by someone in a rubbish bin, said Vincenzo Giulivo, head of the polling station.

The ANSA news agency said the ballots had been filled out.

The election on Sunday and Monday was one of the closest in Italian history.

Romano Prodi’s centre-left opposition has won control of both houses of parliament, but Berlusconi has refused to concede defeat and demanded a vote recount.