Eight candidates nominated to succeed UK PM Johnson - committee

LONDON (Reuters) - Eight candidates will compete to replace Boris Johnson as Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party, the committee in charge of organising the leadership contest said on Tuesday.

The nominated candidates were Kemi Badenoch, Suella Braverman, Jeremy Hunt, Penny Mordaunt, Rishi Sunak, Tom Tugendhat, Liz Truss and Nadhim Zahawi.

Lawmakers Sajid Javid and Rehman Chishti had expressed their intention to run, but withdrew before the final list of candidates was announced. Candidates had to receive a minimum of 20 nominations to make it to that list.

The first round of voting begins on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Alistair Smout and William James; editing by Michael Holden)