Former British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak on Wednesday (13) won the first round of elections to succeed Boris Johnson as leader of the United Kingdom’s Conservative Party and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
There are 6 other candidates in the race for the post of British Prime Minister
Conservative lawmakers voted to narrow the race between candidates. Check out how the first round’s score fared among the top vote-getters:
- Rishi Sunak: 88 votes
- Benny Mordant: 67 votes
- Liz Dress: 50 votes
Current finance minister Nadim Zahavi and former minister Jeremy Hunt were ousted for low votes. Now, the aforementioned trio are once again vying for the votes of the Conservative Party representatives.
The 42-year-old former UK finance minister is the first Hindu to hold the post. He resigned on Tuesday (3), almost at the same time as his health representative Sajid Javid, sparking a crisis that led to Johnson’s resignation two days later.
“We must restore confidence, rebuild the economy and unite the country,” he wrote.
During his tenure as minister, Sunak was criticized for not doing enough to help Britons struggling with the rising cost of living.
In launching his candidacy, he chose not to criticize Johnson, “refusing to demonize Boris, exaggerate his faults and deny his efforts”.
How is the election of Prime Minister?
The leader of the Conservative Party, which holds the majority in the British Parliament, also holds the office of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
There are several rounds of voting between conservative representatives. In each of them, the lowest-voted candidate is eliminated from contention. If only two candidates remain, all party members can participate in the election and ballots are sent by post.
The dates were set by a committee known as the 1922 Committee. According to the group’s chairman, Graham Brady, the timeline for choosing Boris Johnson’s replacement is as follows:
- July 12: Candidates were officially nominated on this day. They must have the support of at least 20 delegates to participate in the dispute.
- From 13th to 21st July: Early stages of elections. Conservative MPs vote for their candidates. Those with the fewest votes are eliminated until there are only two contestants left.
- July 21: The British Parliament goes into recess.
- From July to September: Postal voting continues between the final two candidates. At this point, all party members can vote (there are about 180,000).
- September 5: The winner of the competition is announced, who is the new leader of the Conservative Party and the new British Prime Minister.
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