Residents of Rome have elected the Italian capital's first right-wing mayor since World War II and given Silvio Berlusconi's conservatives another major victory, final returns from local elections showed April 28.

Gianni Alemanno took 53.6 percent of the vote versus 46.3 percent for Francesco Rutelli, a former two-time center-left Rome mayor.

The conservative candidate entered the race as the underdog, but successfully rode the momentum of Berlusconi's triumph in recent national elections to win the runoff against Rutelli that took place April 27 and 28.