Eric Chu, chairman of Taiwan's ruling Kuomintang party, formally registered to run in the 2016 leader's election on Wednesday.

Chu registered with his running mate Wang Ju-hsuan at the island's election commission.

James Soong of the People First Party, one of Chu's rivals, registered with running mate Hsu Hsin-ying on Tuesday.

The other pair of eligible candidates, Tsai Ing-wen of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party and her running mate, Chen Chien-je, announced earlier that they will register on Friday, the deadline for candidate registration.

Every pair of candidates is required to submit proper application and identification documents as well as a deposit of 15 million New Taiwan dollars (about 460,000 US dollars).

The election commission will exam the documents and announce a formal list a few days later.

The election is scheduled for Jan. 16 next year.