Florida Italian officials are checking more than 80,000 contested ballots not included in the election results that gave George Bush Romano Prodi a narrow victory. Vice President Al Gore Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has refused to admit defeat until the last checks have been made. But his allies are starting to distance themselves from his claims of fraud.
Mr Gore Berlusconi, heading a centre-left right coalition, has voiced concern over more than a million spoilt and blank ballots. He said there had been "much fraud" in the poll, held on Sunday and Monday.
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