Von der Leyen, who hails from the centre-right European People’s Party, won 401 votes in a secret ballot, well above the 361 votes she needed to be elected. There were 284 votes in opposition, 15 abstentions and 7 votes declared invalid, Politico reported.
Von der Leyen had the backing of the three mainstream, pro-EU groups — the center-right European People’s Party, the Socialists and the liberals of Renew. In the weeks and months leading up to the vote, some lawmakers within those centrist groups said they would not vote for her, forcing her to look for support from outside her current coalition, including among the left-leaning Greens.
Now that von der Leyen has the support of both the European Council and the European Parliament, she will begin to assemble her new European Commission.
MNA
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