British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has officially put an end to the rumors of a parliamentary election being held on May 2, clarifying that it will be held later this year instead.
Reported by Bloomberg, Sunak made his position clear during an interview with ITV channel.
"In a few weeks, on May 2, we will have elections for local authorities, police and criminal police commissioners, mayors. There will be no parliamentary elections on that day," he stated.
The fact that Sunak did not explicitly rule out a vote in May led to rumors of the possibility of early elections if the prime minister felt that his position was under threat.
However, Bloomberg's sources indicate that Sunak's team is likely leaning towards a fall election, though some members of the Conservative Party have mentioned July as a potential alternative.
Sunak's declaration puts an end to weeks of parliamentary guesswork over whether the Prime Minister would push for an early election.
Current polling by YouGov suggests a challenging landscape for the ruling Conservative Party, predicting a significant defeat if an election were held.
Prime Minister Sunak, who holds the prerogative to call an election at his discretion but no later than January 2025, has implied that his "working assumption" is for the election to take place in the latter half of 2024.
This comes at a time when Sunak's approval ratings among the British populace have hit their lowest point since he assumed office.
