ROME, April 14 (Xinhua) -- The Italian Interior Ministry said on Friday that the number of contested ballots in the just-concluded parliamentary election was roughly 5,000 and far fewer than originally believed, meaning that the center-left coalition led by Romano Prodi had secured their victory.

    According to the ministry, the number of contested ballots had been reduced from 43,028 to 2,131 for the Lower House of parliament, and from 39,822 to 3,135 for the Senate.

    It added the "first, provisional calculation of the disputed ballots was the result of material error."

    The ministry attributed the mistake to a mix-up in some provinces between disputed slips and ballots that had been officially declared void or blank.

    But it added that the election statistics were "still provisional" and that the electoral authorities responsible for examining the disputed ballots had yet to provide their "definitive decisions."

    Prodi, who had claimed victory for his center-left coalition and had been congratulated by many heads of government including British Prime Minister Tony Blair, said on Friday that "our victory is confirmed."

    "They are carrying out the necessary checks and as was obvious, these checks have not led to any new developments," he added. Enditem