After 45 tumultuous days as Prime Minister UK, Liz dress He resigned as leader of the Conservative Party on Thursday, announcing that he would remain in charge of the British government for a few more days until a new prime minister is in place.
But it does not mean that general elections will be held in the country.
Indeed, Truss has not been the head of a British administration since a popular election.
Neither did his predecessor, Boris Johnson, who took office in July 2019; His predecessor, Theresa May, was prime minister when she came to power in July 2016.
Despite this, both Johnson and May called elections shortly after taking office and won both.
This is due to the fact that UK It is not always necessary to hold national elections to elect the ruler of the country.
Unlike most Latin American countries, including Brazil, oh UK It is a parliamentary system.
It works like this: in so-called ‘general elections’, citizens elect 650 members of the House of Commons (equivalent to the House of Representatives), and then a government is formed.
Through this system, The Prime Minister is usually the leader of the party with the most seats in ParliamentIt can achieve a majority in Parliament either alone or in coalition.
The Conservative Party currently has a majority of 357 members of parliament, so it can choose a new leader and elevate him to the post of Prime Minister, without needing to seek additional support from other parties or hold a general election.
as Liz dress Will it change?
British Prime Minister Liz Truss announces her resignation in front of 10 Downing Street in London, Great Britain, October 20, 2022 (Photo: REUTERS/Toby Melville)
Although Labor – the main opposition force – and other political groups such as the Liberal Democrats and the Scottish Nationalist Party support general elections, this is unlikely.
The Conservatives plan to replace Truss with a new leader within a week.
Generally, the election of a new party leader is done in two phases. Conservative lawmakers choose two candidates from their own ranks to fill the office. A referendum is held among registered party members to elect these two candidates.
The rules for electing a new party leader were drawn up by the 1922 committee, said Sir Graham Brady, its current chairman. A new leader is expected to be in place by Friday next week (28/10)..
Conservative MPs can nominate candidates until 2pm on Monday (24/10), but they must have the support of at least one hundred MPs. That is, in practice there cannot be more than three candidates.
If there is only one candidate, he is automatically considered the new Conservative leader and the next prime minister. If there are more candidates, a referendum will be held among Conservative MPs.
If there is no clear winner from that, party members will be invited to an online election to choose one of the two candidates with the most votes.
When is general election necessary?
General elections in UK A new parliament should be elected every five years.
In this case, they will be convened in January 2025 (five years after the first session of the current Parliament, plus the time needed to carry out election campaigning).
Who can call early elections?
Whether an election is held soon depends on the Prime Minister, who is not constitutionally bound to do so.
For example, Theresa May took office in 2016 following the resignation of David Cameron, but did not call an early election until 2017.
Boris Johnson replaced May in July 2019, but did not call a general election until December of that year.
Other prime ministers, such as Gordon Brown, the Labor leader who replaced Tony Blair in 2007, ruled until 2010 without holding snap elections, when it was time to hold general elections as parliament’s five-year term ended.
Is there a way to force an early election?
A prime minister must have the “confidence” of the House of Commons, meaning he must have the support of a majority of MPs.
One way to force a call for an election is to promote a motion of no confidence in Parliament, so that legislators from all parties can decide whether the government should continue.
A simple majority is required to pass the motion. That means more than half of the parliamentarians. If the government loses the vote, a general election is usually called.
It is possible for the king to invite someone else to form a government, someone who can win a vote of confidence in the General Assembly.
However, as the Conservatives currently have an absolute majority, a no-confidence vote would require Conservative lawmakers to vote against their own government, which is unlikely to happen.
– This text was originally published https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/internacional-63342028
Boris Johnson replaces Liz Truss as one of the most cited names in the UK
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