LONDON — Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he will not run for Conservative Party leader, ending intense speculation about a comeback.

Johnson, who was fired in July amid ethics scandals, is expected to replace Liz Truss, who stepped down last week.

He spent the weekend trying to win the support of fellow lawmakers and said he had more than 100 votes, the threshold for running for office.

But he was far behind former Treasury chief Rishi Sunak in support. Johnson said he had come to the conclusion that “you cannot govern effectively unless you have a single party in Parliament”.

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Former British Treasury chief Rishi Sunak was the favorite Sunday in the Conservative race to replace Liz Truss as prime minister. Sunak won the public support of more than 100 Tory lawmakers to beat his two main rivals: former prime minister Boris Johnson and ex-cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt.

But widespread uncertainty remained after British media reported Sunak held late-night talks with Johnson on Saturday. Speculation has been rife that the pair could strike a deal to unite the fractured ruling party after it was left reeling from the rapid fall of the Truss following Johnson’s ouster.

The Conservative Party has hastily ordered a contest that aims to wrap up nominations on Monday and appoint a new prime minister – the third this year – within a week.

Sunak, 42, came second to Truss in this summer’s Tory leadership race to replace Johnson after he was ousted amid a series of ethics scandals. He confirmed on Sunday that he is running again in the latest leadership contest.

According to unofficial counts compiled by British news organizations, Sunak has the support of at least 124 Conservative lawmakers. That’s well ahead of the 100 nominations needed to qualify.

“There will be integrity, professionalism and accountability at all levels of government that I lead, and I will work day in and day out to get the job done,” Sunak said in a statement.

About 50 lawmakers have publicly endorsed Johnson, who has not yet announced whether he will run, while Mordaunt has about 23, according to unofficial counts.

British Foreign Affairs Minister Jacob Rhys-Mogg told the BBC on Sunday that he had spoken to Johnson and “obviously he will stand” after flying into London on Saturday from a holiday in the Dominican Republic.

Mordaunt and Johnson – if he confirms his candidacy – must collect 100 nominations by Monday afternoon. If all three pass the threshold, lawmakers will vote to remove one, then hold a tentative vote on the final two.

The party’s 172,000 members will then be able to decide between the two finalists in an online vote. A new leader must be elected by Friday.

The possible return to power of the 58-year-old Johnson, who officially left office only in early September, has deeply divided conservatives and alarmed many others. Supporters say he is a winner of the vote and has enough support from lawmakers, but many critics warn that Johnson’s new government will be disastrous for the party and the country.

Northern Ireland Secretary Steve Baker, a former Johnson supporter and influential politician in the Conservative Party, warned that Johnson’s return would be a “guaranteed disaster”. Baker noted that Johnson still faces an investigation into whether he lied to parliament while in office about breaking his government’s own coronavirus restrictions while partying in Downing Street.

If convicted, Johnson could be suspended as a lawmaker.

“This is not the time for Boris and his style,” Baker told Sky News on Sunday. “What we can’t do is make him prime minister in circumstances where he’s bound to collapse, bringing down the whole government … and we just can’t do that again.”

But Johnson won the support of several senior conservatives, including Nadhim Zahavi, another former Treasury chief.

“He repented and spoke honestly about his mistakes. From these mistakes, he learned how to better manage the 10th place and manage the country,” Zahavi said.

Truss resigned on Thursday after a tumultuous 45 days, admitting she could not deliver on her failed economic package of tax cuts, which she was forced to abandon after it sparked fury in her party and weeks of turmoil in financial markets.

Sunak, who was Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2020 until this summer, presided over the collapse of the UK economy through the coronavirus pandemic. He resigned in July in protest at Johnson’s leadership.

In the summer race to replace Johnson, Sunak called promises by Truss and other rivals to cut taxes immediately as reckless “fairytales” and argued that rising inflation must first be brought under control.

Tory voters backed Truss over Sunak, but he proved right when Truss’ unfunded package of tax cuts sent markets into chaos in September.

Dozens of Britain’s 357 Conservative lawmakers have yet to publicly say who they support to replace Truss.