Boris Johnson Withdraws From The Party Chair And Reportedly Will Also Withdraw From The British PM, How's The Substitute?

Boris Johnson. (Wikimedia Commons/Palácio do Planalto)

JAKARTA - Boris Johnson is rumored to be announcing his resignation as British Prime Minister on Thursday. Boris has previously been abandoned by ministers and members of the Conservative Party's parliament who think he is no longer worthy of rule.

With eight ministers, including two state secretaries, stepping down in the past two hours, the isolated and helpless Boris Johnson was brought down and declared he was resigning on Thursday, a source said.

His Downing Street office confirmed that Johnson would make a statement to the country later.

After days of struggling for his job, Boris Johnson has been abandoned by all but a handful of allies after a series of recent scandals broke their willingness to support him.

"His resignation is unavoidable", said Justin Tomlinson, Deputy Chair of the Conservative Party, on Twitter.

"As a party, we must quickly unite and focus on what is important. These are serious times in many fields", he continued.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. (Wikimedia Commons/UK Prime Minister)

The Conservative Party now has to choose a new leader, a process that could take about two months. It's unclear whether Johnson will or can stay in the interim role, as the person who will be the new prime minister is elected.

"In addition to resigning as party leader, PM must resign from office", said Conservative MP Nick Gibb.

"After losing so many ministers, he has lost the trust and authority needed to proceed."

Support for Johnson has evaporated for one of the 24 most volatile hours in British political history recently, exemplified by Finance Minister Nadhim Zahawi, who was just appointed to office on Tuesday, asking his boss to resign.

Zahawi and other cabinet ministers came to Downing Street late Wednesday, along with senior representatives from non-governmental lawmakers to let Boris Johnson know the 'game' is over.

Illustration of the British Parliament. (Wikimedia Commons/UK government)

UK PM Change

What would happen if Boris Johnson resigned? There are two options, one of which is if he agrees to leave No. 10 when a replacement is found, as happened to Theresa May in 2019. Under this scenario, there is no need for formality to happen, Johnson will remain in office, try to unite the interim cabinet, and focus will shift to choosing a replacement, reported The Guardian.

If he resigned immediately, it would require an interim PM to be impeached, as constitutionally it is necessary to have a prime minister in post at all times.

Dominic Raab, the justice minister, is deputy prime minister and will be the choice, but if he stands to replace Johnson and feels his position can give him an unfair advantage, there is a possibility that a more neutral option could come in.

The process of dismissing the British PM usually goes hand in hand before Queen Elizabeth II or the British King at Buckingham Palace, to submit his resignation.

On several occasions, Tony Blair, David Cameron, and Theresa May, who withdrew in the middle, remained in their offices until the new PM was elected.

In the process, the PM election was only initiated with candidates who were at least nominated by two Conservative MPs. Then, Conservative lawmakers hold several rounds of voting. Every time they are asked to select their favorite candidates in secret voting, people with the least votes are eliminated.

 Boris Johnson. (Wikimedia Commons/UK Prime Minister Office)

This process is repeated until there are two remaining candidates. The previous voting has been held every Tuesday and Thursday, but parliament will rest for six weeks of summer recess on July 21 so the process may have to be accelerated.

The last two candidates were then put in a broader Conservative Party membership ballot, with the winner appointed as the new leader.

The majority leader in the House of Commons is the de facto prime minister. He doesn't have to hold a quick election but has the power to do so.

The duration of leadership contests may vary, depending on how many people volunteered. Theresa May became the leader less than three weeks after David Cameron stepped down in 2016 and all the other competitors came out in the middle of the race.

Meanwhile, Johnson faced former health minister Jeremy Hunt in a second round of voting for Conservative members to replace May in 2019, and serve two months after May announced its intention to resign.

Local media reported that Johnson had agreed with the chairman of the 1922 Committee, which would oversee the vote, that a new leader should be placed before the party's annual conference in October.