Rishi Sunak, Britain’s former finance minister, could become the country’s next prime minister if his opponent Penny Mordaunt fails to secure the support of 100 MPs by today. Sunak already has the support of 142 parliamentarians.
Penny Mordaunt currently has 29 MPs backing her.
Boris Johnson, who was deposed as Prime Minister in July and left office in September, dropped out of the race just hours before the nomination deadline.
Rishi Sunak will become prime minister if Mordaunt fails to secure the support of 100 MPs by 2 p.m. local time on Monday.
According to the rules announced on Thursday, a maximum of three Tory MPs will be able to run, as the party has set a threshold of 100 MPs for candidates to even appear on the ballot paper, and the party currently has 357 MPs.
The final two candidates will face an accelerated online vote by approximately 170,000 Tory members, with the new leader to be chosen by next Friday.
Rishi Sunak declared his candidacy yesterday, pledging to fix the economy, unite the party, and “deliver for the country.”
