Boris Johnson pulls out of UK leadership race

STORY: Former UK prime minister Boris Johnson has pulled out of the contest to become the Conservative party leader and the country’s next prime minister.

In a statement on Sunday, he said that he, former finance minister Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt have not been able to come together in national interests, adding that “you can’t govern effectively unless you have a united party in parliament.”

This news comes the same day Sunak officially entered the race - in a contest that could be over by Monday if Mordaunt can’t reach the required 100-vote threshold among conservative lawmakers.

Even before his official declaration on Twitter, Sunak had well over the threshold at 129 votes, according to the BBC.

Mordaunt, who was once the secretary of defense, had 23 declared backers and told the BBC that reports she tried to strike a deal with Johnson were false:

But Johnson's statement likely paves the way for Sunak, his arch rival, to become prime minister, replacing Liz Truss who was forced to resign after she launched an economic program that triggered turmoil on financial markets.