Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Sunday that he will not stand for the leadership of the Conservative Party, following the resignation of British Prime Minister Liz Truss last Thursday. Johnson said, "Although he had enough support to hold the final vote, he realized that the country and the party need unity." He also confirmed in a brief statement on Sunday that he had the support of 102 MPs but failed to convince his competitor, former Chancellor Rishi Sunak, and the other competitor Penny Mordaunt to work together "for the national interest." Johnson also returned from a holiday in the Caribbean region in an attempt to secure the support of 100 MPs before a vote by Conservative Party members on Monday to replace Liz Truss, who succeeded him in September, after being forced to resign following a series of scandals. He considered in his statement that the time is not appropriate to lead the government despite his belief that he has much to offer, adding: "I see that the best thing is to withdraw my candidacy and support whoever succeeds," also, Johnson's statement is likely to pave the way for his rival Sunak to become Prime Minister, replacing Truss who was forced to resign after launching an economic program that caused turmoil in the financial markets. According to the rushed competition rules, if only one candidate obtains the support of 100 Conservative MPs, he will be declared Prime Minister on Monday. And if two candidates achieve this level of support, they will go to a vote among party members with the winner announced on Friday. In addition, 42-year-old Sunak confirmed on Sunday that he is competing to replace Liz Truss and pledged to address the "deep economic crisis" in the country "with integrity, professionalism, and accountability." Sunak, who resigned from the government in July, triggering an unprecedented rebellion of ministers against Johnson, said: "I want to fix our economy, unite our party, and help our country."