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(ANSA) - Rome, March 4 - Premier Silvio Berlusconi complained on Thursday that his People of Freedom (PdL) party has been barred from running in regional elections in Lombardy and the Rome province because officials had been overly strict in vetting the paperwork.

"They were too rigorous when checking our lists of candidates," the premier was quoted as telling his aides.

Courts in Milan and Rome have confirmed election officials' decision to exclude the PdL from running in Lombardy for technical irregularities and in the Rome area because paperwork was handed in after Saturday's noon cutoff. The incumbent president of Lombardy, Roberto Formigoni, the PdL and its Northern League ally, which had expected to sweep to victory in their stronghold, will be unable to stand if the decision is not reversed.

A ruling by Lombardy's regional TAR court on whether to allow Formigoni to run for re-election in the March 28-29 elections is expected over the next few days, his lawyer said on Wednesday.

Luca Giuliante, who filed the appeal with TAR earlier on Wednesday, said it was "technically unfeasible" to expect a ruling today. It will take a few days, he said. A Milan appeals court on Wednesday said Formigoni's civic list, linked with the PdL and the Northern League parties, should be excluded from the poll because of bureaucratic irregularities involving nearly 100 signatures.

If TAR also decides against, Formigoni can still file another appeal with the state administrative tribunal.

But a final decision will be needed before March 13 - the cutoff for the publication of electoral lists - to allow the PdL to run in the Rome province.

Formigoni said he was confident that the bureaucratic glitches can be overcome because, in the past, similar problems with signatures had been overlooked or approved on the basis of court rulings. Government sources said officials were considering the idea of drawing up an urgent decree which would allow parties to hand in their lists again. This solution would be agreed with the centre-left opposition, which has, in large part, expressed its unease about running without the country's major party.

The leader of the Italy of Values (IdV) party, Antonio Di Pietro, however, has already ruled out the idea of finding a "legislative solution" to the problem, saying it would amount to "a coup".

So has Pier Luigi Bersani, leader of the Democratic Party (DP), the biggest in the centre-left opposition.

Bersani said the idea was fuzzy and "didn't stand on its feet", stressing that there was still plenty of time to settle the issue through the courts.

"We haven't popped the champagne or uncorked the wine; we want to run regularly," he said, stressing that the centre right had created the muddle and could not "hold others responsible for what's happened".

Meanwhile, Simplifications Minister Roberto Calderoli said it was important to meet with President Giorgio Napolitano to discuss ways of finding a solution to the problem.

Speaking after a meeting between League leader Umberto Bossi and Berlusconi at the premier's residence, Calderoli said a number of solutions had been tossed up.

"But at this point, we need to meet with the president and, in view of the unprecedented nature of what's happened, see what sort of instruments we have available." Earlier, Napolitano said he was "very concerned" about what could happen if the PdL, the country's biggest party, and the League, are barred from running in Lombardy.

The president told reporters during a visit to Brussels he was ready to weigh possible options.

Asked if a political solution could be found, he replied "If someone tells me what it is, who is presenting it and what it's about, I'm ready to examine it," he said before flying back to Rome.

Government sources said Berlusconi had called an urgent cabinet meeting late Thursday, soon after talks with Napolitano.

Photo: Silvio Berlusconi