The UK’s outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to step down in eight weeks as his successor will be announced on Sept. 5.
The 1922 Committee, which represents all Conservative MPs who do not hold government posts, oversees the parliamentary process of the contest.
Setting out the sped-up timetable, Committee Chair Sir Graham Brady said nominations will open and close on Tuesday.
Potential candidates have until 6 p.m. to secure 20 MPs’ signatures to get a nomination, double the number required in the last leadership contest in order to accelerate the elimination process.
The first round of votes will be held on Wednesday, with 30 votes required for a candidate to progress into the next round, compared to the 18 votes required in the last contest.
The second round of votes will be held on Thursday and the third round on July 18 if necessary, with the final two contestants expected to be chosen by July 21.
The Board of the Conservative Party will then invite 160,000 Conservative Party members to vote in a postal ballot, likely following a round of in-person and online hustings, where the two candidates can answer questions from party members.
Brady said the result should be announced on Sept. 5.
So far, 11 candidates have entered the unpredictable race, including Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, Chancellor of the Exchequer Nadhim Zahawi, his predecessor Rishi Sunak, former Health Secretaries Sajid Javid and Jeremy Hunt, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, Attorney General Suella Braveman, Trade Policy Minister Penny Mordaunt, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee Tom Tugendhat, former minister Kemi Badenoch, and newly appointed Foreign Office minister Rehman Chishti.
According to media reports, Home Secretary Priti Patel is yet to decide whether or not to run.
“It seems to be quite a big field at the moment, a lively contest,” Brady said. ”I hope we will have a constructive contest, but a really good opportunity to have a proper, healthy constructive debate about the future of the Conservative Party.”
Brady said the committee executives tried to strike a balance between “making sure the parliamentary stages are concluded fairly rapidly before the summer recess” and enabling a “proper discussion within the party.”
The opposition Labour Party is reportedly preparing a vote of no confidence to force Johnson out immediately, but the motion will unlikely be supported by Conservative MPs who will be wary that opposing the government could trigger a general election.
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