AKIPRESS.COM - Italy is on course for a hung parliament after voters backed right-wing and populist parties, projections based on partial results suggest, BBC reported.

The Eurosceptic, anti-establishment Five Star Movement has won the lion's share of the vote.

But ex-PM Silvio Berlusconi's right-wing coalition, which includes the far-right League, looks set to win the most seats in the lower house of parliament.

Forming a government may now take weeks of negotiation and coalition-building.

Alternatively, fresh elections could be held in a bid to produce a more decisive result - though there is no guarantee that would happen.

Provisional results show Five Star garnering 31.6% of the vote, while the League received 18.2% of the vote and Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia 13.8%.

Matteo Renzi's ruling Democratic Party (DP) only got 19.1% of the vote, which La Repubblica newspaper says is a psychological blow to the party, as it has failed to win more than a fifth of the votes.

Broadly, support for the League came from votes in the north, while Five Star saw its strongest show of support in the south of the country.