TAIPEI (Taiwan News) —Taiwan’s Vice President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) has been formally nominated as the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) candidate for the 2024 Taiwan presidential election.

At the party's Central Executive Committee meeting on Wednesday (April 12), Lai announced he would become the official nominee, per CNA. Lai has served as DPP Chairperson since the DPP's massive 2022 electoral defeat, which caused President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to step down as chair. 

The nomination confirms what was already widely understood to be the DPP’s presidential pick. President Tsai is ineligible for reelection as she has already served the maximum two terms under Taiwanese law.

Polling data from March shows Lai ahead of the Kuomintang’s preferred presidential candidate, New Taipei City Mayor Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜). Hou has not been officially confirmed, though it is expected that he will be announced as the KMT’s candidate within the coming days.

Lai served as a legislator in the Legislative Yuan from 1999 to 2010 and as Mayor of Tainan from 2010 and 2017. In 2019, Lai unsuccessfully challenged Tsai for the DPP’s presidential nomination, but was chosen as her running mate and became vice president after the two won the 2020 election.