Here. Basically before the 2014 election, a new process of a “lead candidate” proposed by the European parliament was introduced to make the appointment of the president of the commission a bit more democratic. That worked in 2014 and for the 2019 election, the parliament once again selected a lead candidate. However this time, the commission just decided to ignore it and instead chose Von der Leyen.
Here. Basically before the 2014 election, a new process of a “lead candidate” proposed by the European parliament was introduced to make the appointment of the president of the commission a bit more democratic. That worked in 2014 and for the 2019 election, the parliament once again selected a lead candidate. However this time, the commission just decided to ignore it and instead chose Von der Leyen.