Northern Ireland’s First Minister Paul Givan has been told by Democratic Unionist Party officers that he’ll have to resign, the Belfast Telegraph reports, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter.
Givan, installed as First Minister only on Thursday, will remain in the position until a new party leader is in place, according to the newspaper.
Calls and messages from Bloomberg News requesting comment from the DUP and Givan’s office weren’t immediately returned.
The development continues days of turmoil within Northern Ireland’s biggest political grouping. Edwin Poots resigned as leader of the DUP late on Thursday.
If Givan steps down the DUP and Sinn Fein will have seven days to nominate and endorse a First and Deputy First Minister, or U.K. Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis may be forced to call elections.
Nominations for the DUP leadership are likely to open at the start of next week, and close by the end of the week, the Belfast Telegraph cited people familiar with the plans as saying, with a new leader expected to be in place by the end of June.
The only candidate is likely to be Jeffrey Donaldson, who leads the party at Westminster, according to the newspaper
