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Flags float in front of Parliament, London, September 4, 2019. REUTERS / Hannah McKay

UK lawmakers on Wednesday passed a law demanding the postponement of Brexit in order to prevent an exit without EU approval on 31 October. This is a new setback for Prime Minister Boris Johnson. In a minority, the latter asked the British Parliament to authorize him to call early elections on 15 October.

The text for the postponement of Brexit was voted with 327 votes in favor and 299 against in third and final reading. Boris Johnson, who said he was ready to implement Brexit " whatever the cost, " announced that he would ask for a general election on 15 October if the text is adopted.

" The government can not continue to function if the House of Commons refuses to adopt what the government is proposing, " said Boris Johnson. " There must now be an election on Tuesday, October 15 ".

To achieve his ends, the head of the government will have to obtain the assent of two-thirds of the Parliament, an outcome which seems unlikely since the Labor opposition has indicated that it would give its agreement only if it had the guarantee that the The United Kingdom would not leave the European Union without reaching an agreement with it.

Labor and other opposition groups are not hostile to legislative elections in general, but they fear Boris Johnson's proposed electoral timetable is a "trap" to torpedo their own initiative.

(With agencies)