Voting officials count ballots in a polling station, Rome, Feb. 25, 2013.
The polls have closed in Italy, where voters are now anxiously awaiting the results of the country's most important elections in years.
Elections officials are now starting to count ballots after Italians completed a second day of voting Monday, though officials say turnout appeared to be lower than in past elections.
Exit polling and projections based on early results showed Pier Luigi Bersani's center-left Democratic Party leading in the lower house of parliament with former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's center-right People of Liberty party leading in the Senate.
Bersani campaigned in support of some of the tough economic reforms spearheaded by current Prime Minister Mario Monti while Berlusconi is looking to make an unlikely political comeback. The billionaire former prime minister is facing charges ranging from fraud to having sex with an underage prostitute.
Many of the exit polls have comedian-turned-politician Beppe Grillo and his Five Star Movement in third.
Voters angry over a prolonged economic slump and a discredited political elite cast ballots with many looking to anti-establishment parties promising radical change.
Fellow European Union members are keeping a close eye on Italy's two-day national election that could shape the future of the economic bloc's third-largest economy.
Italians Vote in National Election
1/6Five Star Movement leader and comedian Beppe Grillo and his wife Parvin Tadjik arrive to cast their votes in Genoa, Italy, Feb. 25, 2013.
Italians angry over a prolonged economic slump and a discredited political elite cast ballots with many looking to anti-establishment parties promising radical change.
2/6Democratic party leader Pier Luigi Bersani casts his vote in Piacenza, Italy, Feb. 24, 2013.
Italians angry over a prolonged economic slump and a discredited political elite cast ballots with many looking to anti-establishment parties promising radical change.
3/6A woman casts her vote in a polling station in Rome, Feb. 24, 2013.
Italians angry over a prolonged economic slump and a discredited political elite cast ballots with many looking to anti-establishment parties promising radical change.
4/6A voting official prepares ballot papers at a polling station in Rome, Feb. 24, 2013.
Italians angry over a prolonged economic slump and a discredited political elite cast ballots with many looking to anti-establishment parties promising radical change.
5/6Carabinieri stop a protester from the women's rights organization Femen outside the polling station where former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi cast his vote in Milan, Italy, Feb. 24, 2013.
Italians angry over a prolonged economic slump and a discredited political elite cast ballots with many looking to anti-establishment parties promising radical change.
6/6A nun casts her vote in a polling station in Rome, Feb. 24, 2013.
Italians angry over a prolonged economic slump and a discredited political elite cast ballots with many looking to anti-establishment parties promising radical change.
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Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
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