Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Sunday that he will not run for the leadership of the Conservative Party, ending a short-lived bid to return to the premiership that saw him ousted just over three months ago. His departure leaves former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak as the strong favorite to become the next UK Prime Minister. He can win the competition already on Monday. Johnson, who was ousted in July amid ethics scandals, is expected to run to replace Liz Truss, who resigned last week after her tax cut economic package sent shockwaves through financial markets and damaged her standing in the ruling party. Johnson spent the weekend trying to drum up support from fellow lawmakers after flying in from a Caribbean vacation. By late Sunday, he said he had collected more than 100 names, the threshold to run for office. But he lagged far behind Sunak in support. Johnson said he had come to the conclusion that “you cannot govern effectively unless you have a united party in Parliament”. Sunak won the public support of more than 100 Tory lawmakers to beat his two main rivals, Johnson and former Cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt. The Conservative Party has hastily ordered the contest, which 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. “There will be integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level of government that I lead, and I will work day in and day out to get the job done,” Sunak said. in the statement. Johnson’s exit came after allies insisted he would run. Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg told the BBC on Sunday he had spoken to Johnson and “obviously he will stand” after , as he flew to London on Saturday from a holiday in the Dominican Republic. 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 Johnson is found guilty, he could be removed from office. “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. He learned from these mistakes how he can lead the 10th place and the country better,” Zahavi said. Truss stepped down 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 anger in her party and weeks of turmoil in financial markets. Sunak, who served as Treasury chief from 2020 until this summer, presided over an economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic. He resigned in July in protest at Johnson’s leadership. In the summer race to replace Johnson, Sunak called Truss’ and other rivals’ promises to cut taxes immediately reckless. “fairy tales” and claimed that kl First of all, it is necessary to control inflation. Tory voters backed Truss over Sunak, but he was right when Truss’ unfunded tax package sent markets into chaos in September. Dozens of Britain’s 357 Conservative lawmakers have yet to say publicly who they support to replace Truss.