Italian MPs have elected Constitutional Court judge Sergio Mattarella president on the third day of voting.

Mattarella's victory was clinched today when he amassed 505 votes, a simple majority, with the count incomplete.

Prime minister Matteo Renzi had pushed hard for Mattarella's election, and some of Renzi's rebellious Democrats had protested that the prime minister had imposed his choice on them.

Mattarella, 73, with Christian Democrat roots, is considered to be above the political fray.

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