UK PM race: Boris Johnson wins first round

By Muhammad Mussa

LONDON (AA) – Boris Johnson has won the first round of voting in the Conservative Party leadership contest, confirming his position as the frontrunner to be the next British prime minister. He will now have to contest the second round of voting on June 18.

The former foreign secretary who is vying to fight for a better Brexit deal, won the approval of 114 Tory MPs, out of the total of 313. Besides Johnson, six other candidates have also qualified to contest the second round. The included incumbent Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, Environment Secretary Michael Gove, Home Secretary Sajid Javid, Health Secretary Matt Hancock, International Development Secretary Rory Stewart and former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab. They will go through to the next round of voting among MPs, unless they decide to drop out.

Former Leader of House of Commons Andrea Leadsom, former Work and Pensions Minister Esther Louise McVey and former Chief Whip Mark Harper were knocked out of the race, as they received less than 15 votes.

“Thank you my friends and colleagues in the Conservative and Unionist Party for your support. I am delighted to win the first ballot, but we have a long way to go” Johnson said in a statement on Twitter.

His victory in the first round by securing 114 votes means that he is certain to reach the final rounds of the leadership contest. Only 105 votes are required to reach to the final round, in which two candidates will face each other.

Johnson was the only candidate who received more than 100 votes. Other six candidates, who also made to the second round, polled less than 50 votes.