The 46-year-old's candidacy was backed by the centre-left Democratic Party, of which he is a prominent member, and the centre-right People of Freedom to which he is linked by family ties, Xinhua reported.

The coalition government of the Democratic Party and the People of Freedom is composed of 21 ministers including seven women, more than ever, and the country's first non-white minister, Cecile Kyenge, who was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo.