Early poll results point to hung parliament in Italy

ROME - The early results of Italy's general elections Monday showed no clear majority, the Interior Ministry said.

Partial data from the ministry showed the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) emerging as the single largest party with 30-31 percent of the votes.

The center-right coalition led by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia party was projected at 36-36.5 percent, and the center-left front led by the Democratic Party of immediate past Prime Minister Matteo Renzi was lagging behind at 24-25 percent.

The vote was held at the end of a bitter campaign focused on such divisive issues as immigration, security and economic recovery, which still remains too sluggish to benefit the middle class.

Early data so far indicated victory of the M5S as a single party and of the center-right as a coalition. If the trends are confirmed, no party or coalition alone would reach the majority required to form the new government.

If that happens, the parties would take weeks to negotiate an agreement, which would be brokered by President Sergio Mattarella as required by the constitution.

During Sunday's voting, some 46.6 million Italians of the 60-million population were eligible to vote, and the turnout was around 73 percent, according to the ministry.