Six lawmakers from Britain’s ruling Conservative Party survived the first round of voting to replace outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The two candidates did not receive the support from at least the thirty colleagues needed to remain competitive on Wednesday.

Former Finance Minister Rishi Sunak had the most support with 88 votes. After him came MP Penny Mordaunt (67 votes) and Foreign Minister Liz Truss (50 votes). Former Foreign Minister Kemi Badenoch, Member of Parliament Tom Tugendhat and Attorney General for England and Wales Suella Braverman also qualified for the second round on Thursday.

Finance Minister Nadhim Zahawi and former Ministers of Health and Foreign Affairs Jeremy Hunt are out.

‘Most Britons have never heard of him’

Lia van Bekhoven, a correspondent in the UK, called the outcome for Sunak ‘expected’. It was very special that number two had become Mordaunt. ‘Most British people have never heard of him. But he charged right in the middle when no one was paying attention.’

Truss would be one of the candidates killed to finish in the last two, thus competing for the leadership of the Conservative party. ‘Everything will change now’, thought Van Bekhoven. “It’s about silver, about Liz Truss and Penny Mordount.”

A total of 358 MPs were allowed to vote. In each subsequent round, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, until finally two are left. Then all party members can express their preferences. The intention is that on September 5 it will be announced who will replace Johnson as party leader and prime minister.