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Boris Johnson Elected UK Prime Minister

23 July 2019 15:06 (UTC +04:00)

Boris Johnson will become the new British Prime Minister after being elected the next leader of the Conservative Party on Tuesday, APA reports citing BBC.

In a turnout of 87.4% from Conservative members, Johnson received 92, 153 votes. Johnson will formally take over as prime minister on Wednesday afternoon, succeeding Theresa May, who stepped down over her failure to get parliament to ratify her Brexit deal.

He will inherit a political crisis over Britain's exit from the European Union, currently due to take place on October 31. Johnson must persuade the EU to revive talks on a withdrawal deal that it has been adamant cannot be reopened, or else lead Britain into the economic uncertainty of an unmanaged departure.

The only deal on the table has been rejected three times by parliament and many lawmakers - including pro-EU rebels in the Conservative Party - are also vowing to block Johnson trying to take Britain out of the EU without a deal.

He has said he would ramp up preparations for a no-deal to try to force the EU's negotiators to make changes to the accord.

Johnson is not likely to start announcing key ministerial appointments until Wednesday, but his victory in the leadership contest is expected to prompt several resignations in the deeply divided Conservative Party.