Fumio Kishida was elected as Japan’s new prime minister by parliament on Monday and is set to form a Cabinet that will seek to keep COVID-19 under control while reviving a battered economy as he looks to appeal to voters heading into an upcoming general election, according to Kyodo news.

The election for the House of Representatives, the more powerful lower chamber of parliament, is slated to take place Oct. 31, according to people familiar with Kishida’s thinking, earlier than the first half of November which had been expected.

Kishida replaces Yoshihide Suga, who resigned after just over a year in office amid criticism of his pandemic response.

The Diet convened an extraordinary session in the afternoon to choose the new prime minister in a vote that was little more than a formality as the ruling coalition led by the Liberal Democratic Party, which chose Kishida as its new leader last week, has a majority in both chambers.

The 64-year-old received 311 of 458 votes in the lower house and 141 of 241 votes in the House of Councillors.

Source: Azerbaijan State News Agency