Antonio Tajani of EPP Christian Democrat group elected EU Parliament President Tuesday Jan 17,2017

Antonio Tajani of EPP Christian Democrat group elected President 

Antonio Tajani, of the European People's Party (EPP) Christian Democrat group, was elected president of the European Parliament on Tuesday Jan 17,2017

Tajani won the vote after a day-long polling series during which he defeated his socialist opponent, Gianni Pittella.

The main candidates are both Italian: centre-right politician Antonio Tajani, and socialist Gianni Pittella. Another five candidates have little chance.

Before the first round of voting, the EPP, the largest group in the European Union's legislature, and the ALDE liberals, the fourth-largest, announced a coalition that gave Tajani a big early lead over S&D socialist Pittella.

He maintained the lead through four rounds of voting at the legislature in Strasbourg, France.

The battle among the two Italians was won by Tajani on a vote of 351-282 in the decisive final round, which only the top two candidates could enter.

His victory gives the Christian Democrat group all the biggest jobs in the EU, with Donald Tusk as Council President and Jean-Claude Juncker as Commission chief.

Tajani devoted his victory to the victims of August's earthquake in Italy and to all victims of terror.

He said in his acceptance speech: 'We must devote our attention to all those who are in tough living conditions.'

To make the coalition with the EPP work, ALDE leader Guy Verhofstadt withdrew from the election among the European Parliament's 751 legislators.

Note

The EU Parliament is composed of 751 (previously 766) members, who represent the second largest democratic electorate in the world (after the Parliament of India) and the largest trans-national democratic electorate in the world (375 million eligible voters in 2009)

It has been directly elected every five years by universal suffrage since 1979. However, voter turnout at European Parliament elections has fallen consecutively at each election since that date, and has been under 50% since 1999. Voter turnout in 2014 stood at 42.54% of all European voter

The President of the European Parliament (Parliament's speaker) is Martin Schulz (S&D), elected in January 2012. He presides over a multi-party chamber, the two largest groups being the Group of the European People's Party (EPP) and the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D)

The European Parliament has three places of work – Brussels (Belgium), the city of Luxembourg (Luxembourg) and Strasbourg (France). Luxembourg is home to the administrative offices (the 'General Secretariat'). Meetings of the whole Parliament ('plenary sessions') take place in Strasbourg and in Brussels. Committee meetings are held in Brussels