MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd August, 2018) Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said Thursday he would step down if his ruling Liberal party called a leadership ballot.
"I now await a letter with signatures of a majority of the party room. Thats 43. If I receive that I will convene a new party room meeting," he said at a press conference.
If that condition is met, a meeting will be held at midday on Friday to decide whether to call a new leadership contest, and Turnbull said he would not take part in it.
"If the motion is carried I will treat that as a vote of no confidence and I will not stand as a candidate in the ballot," he assured reporters.
This comes after resigned Liberal home affairs minister Peter Dutton called for a new closed-door party meeting, in a fresh challenge against Turnbull.
Turnbull announced that the lower house of parliament had been adjourned at Duttons request and that he had asked the solicitor general to consider whether his rival was eligible to sit in the House.
The Australian government has been in turmoil after an exodus of ministers emphasized Turnbulls waning support in his own party, which is a senior member in the ruling coalition. He narrowly won a leadership vote on Tuesday, initiated by Dutton.
