A top Italian court Wednesday confirmed the slim electoral victory of center-left economist Romano Prodi over Premier Silvio Berlusconi, according to Italian television.

Italy's centre-left coalition leader Romano Prodi (L) waves as he walks in downtown Rome April 19, 2006. [Reuters]

Italian Sky TV news said the Court of Cassation confirmed the result after reviewing 5,200 ballots that were not immediately included in the overall count because they were unclear.

The court said an official announcement about the review would not be made until later Wednesday.

Prodi said he would not comment until the official announcement, the ANSA news agency reported.

Prodi won a razor-thin majority in the April 9-10 vote, winning control of both houses of parliament.

The former premier and European Union chief has claimed victory for days, urging Berlusconi to concede defeat. But the conservative leader has so far remained defiant.

The confirmation was widely expected after the Interior Ministry last week reduced the number of the contested ballots from more than 80,000, dashing Berlusconi's hopes of overturning the election result.

In any case, it will be weeks before Prodi can take over as premier.

It is up to Italy's president to give the mandate to form a government. However, the current president's term expires in mid-May, and he has indicated he wants to leave the task to his successor.

Prodi has been meeting with allies in recent days as he prepares to take office.