Nigerian-Born Kemi Badenoch, 4 others move to round three in race for UK prime minister

By Ed Malik. A with Agency reports. July 15, 2022 3.44 PM

The British Conservative Party have pruned further down the numbers of contenders for the office of Prime Minister after second-round voting on Thursday, which saw the Attorney-General Suella Braverman dropping out of the race.

Braverman received 27 votes, the least number in the second-round ballot to produce a successor to the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who resigned suddenly last Thursday as leader of the ruling party amidst controversial allegations of weak leadership by his party leadership.

Former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Rishi Sunak maintained the top spot, polling 101 votes in the second round, followed by Junior Trade Secretary Penny Mordaunt who scored 83 votes, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss came third with 64 votes. Nigerian-born Member of Parliament, Kemi Badenoch scored 49 votes is fourth, while former British military officer, Tom Tugendhat came fifth with 32 votes.

The five contenders will face further voting rounds among colleagues in the parliament from next Monday and the balloting will continue until only two are left in the race. Thereafter, Conservative Party members will vote to decide the winner among the last two contestants on September 5.

The race to occupy Number 10 Downing Street of London was thrown open following the resignation of Prime Minister Boris Johnson as the party’s leader last Thursday.

Constitutionally, Prime Minister Johnson will quit office as soon as a new PM emerges, the UK will not head to the polls until 2024. The Conservative Party that won the last parliamentary election will produce the new prime minister