Zimpapers Logo

Boris Johnson commanded first place in the first round of voting to be the next Conservative leader. The race to replace outgoing British Prime Minister Theresa May is on.

Boris Johnson, the former foreign minister, confirmed his frontrunner status Thursday, coming in first place after the first round of voting by Conservative members of Parliament. Johnson won 114 votes, far ahead of the rest of the field of 10 contenders. The runner-up, current foreign minister Jeremy Hunt, secured just 43 votes.

A total of 10 candidates were vying to be the next leader of the Conservative Party and the future prime minister of the United Kingdom. Three were eliminated in this first ballot, each failing to gain the support of more than 16 members of Parliament, the threshold needed to advance to the next vote on Tuesday.

Whoever wins the still-crowded contest will be faced with the daunting task of trying to finalise the UK’s break up with the European Union, which is currently scheduled for October 31.

Brexit is dominating the race, and each candidate is trying to promote their Brexit bona fides and make the case that they have the best strategy to steer the UK through its divorce with the EU.

This leadership contest is expected to stretch on for weeks, with a new prime minister taking over toward the middle to end of July. Here’s what to expect, and what to know about the candidates competing to be the UK’s next leader.

Prime Minister Theresa May formally stepped aside as leader of the Conservative Party on June 7, allowing the contest to replace her to begin on the 10th. May will remain as prime minister until the next leader is selected, likely sometime in July. Reuters