Topless Femen protester confronts Berlusconi at polling station

A topless Femen protester jumped on the table of a Milan polling station in front of Forza Italia leader Silvio Berlusconi as he was queuing to cast his vote.

The woman had "BERLUSCONI SEI SCADUTO" (BERLUSCONI YOU'VE EXPIRED) written on her chest and shouted at the ex-Italian prime minister: "You've passed your expiry date. Your time's up!"

Referencing the "Time's Up" movement against sexual harassment she continued to yell "times up everybody".

After the activist was escorted out by police, Berlusconi cast his ballot and left the polling station.

"She left so quickly I didn't get a chance to see her," he said to bystanders.

Opinion polls were banned in the last two weeks of campaigning in the run-up to the Italian election but surveys before that showed Berlusconi's centre-right coalition was ahead, yet would not win a majority.

The four-time prime minister cannot take office himself until 2019 due to a tax fraud conviction.