So far among conservative lawmakers who have publicly declared their support, Sunak has 70 supporters, Johnson has 37 and Mordaunt has 20.
Boris Johnson is increasing his chances in an attempt to return to the post of British prime minister, and his colleagues are quite divided on the issue of his possible re-appointment. Some of them believe that if re-elected, the politician will plunge the country into new chaos, writes Reuters.
Read also: The Telegraph: Johnson wants to follow in the footsteps of Churchill and become the prime minister of Britain after his resignation, but how he will it do?
Former defense secretary Penny Mordont is the first of the other candidates to officially announce her intention to run for the next Conservative Party leader, but Johnson and Rishi Sunak, a former finance minister in his government, head the list of potential challengers who have secured support ahead of next week's vote .
With the Conservatives holding a large majority in parliament and able to ignore calls for a general election for another two years, the party's new leader will become prime minister – Britain's fifth in six years.
Read also: Britons prefer to see Sunak as PM: poll
Those looking to replace Liz Truss, who resigned on Thursday after six chaotic weeks, need 100 votes from Conservative lawmakers party until Monday. Truss herself replaced Johnson after his colleagues ousted him in July.
Johnson has not officially announced that he will run, but he has the support of five cabinet ministers, and media reports said Sunak became the first leadership candidate to clear the threshold to enter the contest by Monday's deadline.
< h4>Rishi Sunak has the highest level of support among lawmakers
According to a Reuters count of conservative lawmakers who have publicly declared their support, Sunak has 70 supporters, Johnson 37 and Mordaunt 20.
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A return to power would be an extraordinary turnaround for Johnson, who remains popular among party members – although a YouGov poll of 3,429 adults on Friday found that 52% of Britons would be unhappy with this return.
Read also: Liz Truss announced her resignation from the post of Prime Minister of Great Britain
On the eve of the appointment of a new head of government in Britain, some doubted whether will Johnson, who left office comparing himself to a Roman dictator who came to power twice to deal with crises, get 100 votes from fellow party members. His three-year premiership was marred by scandals and allegations of misconduct.
Death spiral for Conservatives
Former Conservative leader William Hague said Johnson's return was probably the worst idea he had heard as a member of the party in almost half a century. He said it would lead to a “death spiral” for the Conservatives.
Sunak, a former Goldman Sachs analyst who became finance minister immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic and came second to Truss in the last leadership contest, is currently is the race favorite followed by Johnson. Mordont again took third place.
Read also: Will Boris Johnson return to the position of prime minister: Reuters analyzed the chances of the candidates
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The winner will be announced next week. If there is only one candidate with more than 100 points of support from lawmakers by Monday, that person will be declared the winner; if three candidates meet the threshold, a vote by lawmakers on Monday will eliminate one candidate, and party members will then choose between the remaining two, and the winner will be announced on Friday.
