Rome ? A top Italian court has confirmed the slim electoral victory of Romano Prodi in the lower house of parliament, prompting the center-left leader to proclaim anew that he had won the overall election.

The Court of Cassation, which is reviewing contested ballots from this month’s parliamentary election, said Prodi had won the lower house by about 24,000 votes – a margin virtually unchanged from the one previously announced.

The review of disputed ballots for the upper house was still under way, delaying official certification of the results of the April 9-10 election. However, the small number of contested ballots in the Senate was not expected to reverse Prodi’s slim victory in that chamber either.