How the UK Conservatives plan to replace departing Liz Truss

LONDON: Britain’s governing Conservative Party is electing a new leader for the second time this year. The winner will replace Liz Truss, who stepped down Thursday after 45 days in office, as party leader and will automatically become prime minister.

Unlike the two-month contest held over the summer to replace Boris Johnson, party officials have designed a condensed election process that aims to have a new prime minister in place within a week.

Here is how the contest will unfold:

• Friday, Oct. 21 – Nominations open for the contest, in which any of the 357 Conservative lawmakers can run.

• To get on the ballot, candidates need signatures from 100 of their fellow Tory legislators – much higher than the threshold of 20 names set for the last leadership contest. This time, the field is limited to a maximum of three. During the summer, eight lawmakers made the first round of voting.

• Monday, Oct. 24 – Nominations close at 2 p.m. (1300 GMT). If there are three contenders, Conservative lawmakers will vote between 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., with the result announced at 6 p.m. The lowest-placed candidate will be eliminated.

• Once there are two candidates, lawmakers will hold an “indicative vote” before online voting opens for the 172,000 Conservative Party members across the country.

• Friday, Oct. 28 – Voting closes. A winner is declared and will go meet King Charles III to be formally appointed prime minister.