European Parliament elects Roberta Metsola as president

The European Union's 705-seat legislature on Tuesday elected Maltese conservative Roberta Metsola as its new president

The European Parliament has elected conservative Maltese lawyer Roberta Metsola as president after the death of office-holder David Sassoli. She is the first woman in 20 years to hold the post, Qazet.az reports citing DW.com.

The European Union's 705-seat legislature on Tuesday elected Maltese conservative Roberta Metsola as its new president.

Metsola has been acting president since the death last Tuesday of her predecessor David Sassoli, to whom she was vice president.

She was elected with a clear majority of 458 out of 616 ballots cast.

The timing of the elected had nothing to do with Sassoli's death. He had been due to leave at the end of January anyway — after two-and-a-half years in post — under a power-sharing deal.