Germany's ruling CDU elects Armin Laschet as chairman

Germany's ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU) on Saturday elected Armin Laschet as its chairman after an online vote.

The 59-year-old is the minister-president of Germany's most populous state North Rhine-Westphalia.

Laschet garnered 521 votes in a run-off, beating the pro-business conservative Friedrich Merz, who got 466 votes. The third candidate, foreign policy expert Norbert Roettgen, was knocked out in the first round of voting.

"I am aware of the responsibility associated with this office," Laschet said in his victory speech, adding he will "ensure the next chancellor in the coming federal elections will be from the (CDU/CSU) union."

The election is widely seen as a crucial step paving way for the post-Merkel era. In late 2018, German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that she wouldn't seek a fifth term. She later stepped down from the CDU leadership.