Yoshihide Suga was elected as the new head of Japan’s ruling party on Monday. He is likely to become the country’s next prime minister when a parliamentary election is held later this week. The 71-year-old Suga has been an important official in outgoing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s administration. He served as the government’s spokesman and chief cabinet secretary. Abe is resigning from the government because of health problems. As leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Suga is expected to become the new prime minister with Wednesday’s vote. The LDP holds a majority in the parliament’s ruling coalition. Suga received 377 votes in Monday’s vote easily defeating two other candidates. “Now I’m handing the baton to new LDP President Suga,” Abe said after the vote. “We can count on him.”