Former London mayor Boris Johnson has won the vote to head the UK Conservative Party, securing a total of 92,153 votes, the chairwoman of the party’s 1922 Committee said on Tuesday.
“Jeremy Hunt – 46,656, Boris Johnson – 92,153. Therefore I give notice that Boris Johnson is elected as the leader of the Conservative and Unionist Party,” Dame Cheryl Elise Kendall Gillan said.
Since Johnson will automatically become the UK prime minister, he will replace outgoing UK Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday after she steps down.
Johnson thus defeated UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who was also running for premiership.
Johnson and Hunt emerged as the two main contestants after Conservative lawmakers held several rounds of voting. Ordinary members of the party made the final decision through a mail-in vote.
The official transfer of power will take place on Wednesday after May holds her last Q&A session with UK lawmakers. Queen Elizabeth II will accept May’s resignation and ask the new prime minister to form a new government. Key appointments are expected to be announced late on Wednesday or on the following day. It is already known that Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond and Justice Secretary David Gauke plan to resign after Johnson’s appointment, while Minister of State for Europe and the Americas Sir Alan Duncan has already resigned. Hunt is also expected to leave his post.
Johnson wins vote to head UK Conservative Party, will become Prime Minister Wednesday
