Muhammad Mussa
20 June 2019•Update: 20 June 2019
LONDON
Britain's former foreign secretary Boris Johnson has once again come out on top of the Conservative leadership race on Thursday after defeating the three remaining candidates.
Johnson received the support of 157 Tory MPs, securing his leading place in the fifth ballot.
Foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt received 59 votes, with environment secretary Michael Gove getting 61 votes and home secretary Sajid Javid getting 34 votes.
Javid, the only candidate from a Muslim background, has now been knocked out of the race after receiving less votes from his rivals.
Johnson will now face off with Gove and Hunt on Thursday’s ballot with the results of that vote being announced in the evening hours.
The former foreign secretary has consistently extended his lead, receiving more votes in each round. The number of Tory MPs voting for Johnson represents a 14 point increase from the previous round, a large increase in comparison to the minimal gains from other candidates.
If Johnson is able to maintain this significant lead, he is all but certain to make it to the final round of the contest and if he is to succeed in that, as expected, he will become the next prime minister of the U.K.
All 313 Conservative MPs voted in the secret ballot that took place in the House of Commons with 2 ballot papers were reported as being spoiled.
In the final round, the Tory membership will vote on a candidate and the winner will be announced in the week commencing 22 July.
The leadership race was triggered after Theresa May's resignation on 7 June after repeatedly failing to secure enough votes for her Brexit deal in the House of Commons.
