A topless Femen activist has disrupted polling in Italy's national election while ex-Premier Silvio Berlusconi was casting his ballot.
The woman, who had the words "Berlusconi, you've expired" written in black marker on her topless torso, jumped onto the table at the Milan polling station as Berlusconi was voting.
Photographers in the room to shoot the scene jostled for position amid the chaos. Berlusconi was escorted out.
Meanwhile, Italian authorities urged voters to leave plenty of time to cast their ballots since the process is taking longer than usual due to new anti-fraud measures.
Voters have complained of long lines - some of more than an hour - at polling stations around the country.
Rome's city hall urged voters to head out as soon as possible, or at least an hour before polls close at 11 pm Sunday (11am Monday NZT).
City authorities said the delays were due "in great part" to new anti-fraud measures. Under the new system, each ballot has a serial number that is entered in the registration books alongside the name of the voter who receives the ballot.
After the voter fills out the ballot and seals it, the detachable coupon with the serial number on it is removed and presented to the head of the polling station to make sure it matches the number in the registry.
The polling station chief then deposits the ballot in the box without any identifying information.
Italy's interior ministry said the turnout for the election five hours after the polls opened stood at 19.3 per cent, with more than 46 million Italians eligible to vote in total.
The campaign was marked by the prime-time airing of neofascist rhetoric and anti-migrant violence that culminated in a shooting spree last month against six Africans.
While the center-right coalition that capitalized on the anti-migrant sentiment led the polls, analysts predict the likeliest outcome is a hung parliament.
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