Germany has elected a new head of the ruling Christian Democratic Union party: 59-year-old Armin Laschet, DW reported.

Laschet was elected head of the party with 521 votes. His competitor was Friedrich Merz, who received 466 votes.

Laschet has been the prime minister of Germany's most populous federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia since 2017. He is most in favor of continuing the course of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Christian Democratic Union.