Rome's grassroots mayor Virginia Raggi on Monday denied a report by an investigative TV show that suggested problems with the signatures gathered for her electoral list last year.
"I read about the alleged irregularities," Raggi told journalists on Monday after Sunday's report by the Le Iene programme on ex-premier Silvio Bersluconi's Italia 1 channel.
"We will do further checks but from what I understand from my list delegates there were no irregularities, Raggio said.
The leader of the anti-establishment Five-Star movement to which Raggi belongs, also denied any discrepancies in the signatures for her electoral list.
"Put your mind at rest: Raggi is the legitimate mayor of Rome, voted for by two-thirds of Roman voters," Beppe Grillo wrote on his blog.
"All the signatures collected in Rome for the presentation of the Virginia Raggi list were gathered correctly," wrote Luigi di Maio, a Five Star MP who is widely expected to be the movement's candidate for prime minister.
The Le Iene report was based on claims made by Alessandro Onorato, Rome a city councillor elected on a list that backed one of Raggi's rivals in the mayoral race, billionaire businessman Alfio Marchini.
Since Raggi swept to victory last June and took office, her administration has been bedevilled by a series of scandals, acrimonious resignations and its officials dogged by judicial woes.
Raggi was in January put under investigation for abuse of office and false testimony.
