A second candidate has joined the race for the presidency of the European Parliament at the last minute, facing Malta's Roberta Metsola as the election looms on Tuesday. 

Spanish MEP Irene Montero was put forward by The Left political group shortly before the deadline on Monday.

The nomination was confirmed by the European Parliament (EP) around 7.15pm.

Political groups had until 6pm on Monday to field a candidate to rival Metsola's nomination.

Irene Montero is a Spanish politician and psychologist and a member of the left-wing populist Podemos party. She most recently served as the Minister of Equality of Spain between January 2020 and November 2023.

Her partner Pablo Iglesias, a former MEP and Podemos co-founder, also ran for the same post against Martin Schulz in 2014, losing to the German politician who secured his second term in office that year. 

Writing on X, formerly Twitter, Montero thanked her colleagues in The Left political group and said she was entering the race "for a Europe of peace, feminism and rights, for the end of the genocide against the Palestinian people, because no human being is illegal."

Metsola remains the favourite to retain the post after the unanimous endorsement of the EPP group. It is not yet known whether other political groupings will endorse her, though she is believed to enjoy widespread support after her first term. 

In 2022, Metsola became the youngest EP president in history after winning 458 votes out of 690 in the first round of voting.

She had previously occupied the post of first vice-president since November 2020.

If confirmed in her role, Metsola will occupy the role for the first half of the 10th parliamentary term until January 2027.

She will also become only the second president to straddle two legislatures, following German S&D MEP Martin Schulz between 2012 and 2017.