On Jan. 13, 2024, nearly 18,000 polling centres across the Taiwan island opened at 8am for the 2024 Taiwan elections.

Of the 23 million or so inhabitants on the island, some 19.3 million are eligible voters, of which one million will be casting their ballots for the very first time.

Besides electing a new President, the Taiwanese public will also vote for district legislators and legislators-at-large, and they will receive three ballot papers in total.

The eligible voting age in Taiwan is 20, but voting is not compulsory.

Counting will begin after the last vote is cast by 4pm, and early official tallies from voting districts are expected to be released around an hour later at 5pm.

Results are expected to be announced within the same day.

Who's who

Incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) will be stepping down in May 2024.

Tsai became Taiwan's first female president in 2016, after defeating Ma Ying-jeou from the Kuomintang (KMT).

She served for two terms, and is ineligible to seek re-election due to Taiwan's two-term limit.

@mothershipsg Taiwan voters go to the polls to elect their next president today (Jan. 13). One of them is outgoing President Tsai Ing-wen. #taiwan #taiwanelection #news ♬ original sound - Mothership

In the running to succeed Tsai are William Lai Ching-te from ruling DPP, Hou You-ih from the main opposition party KMT, and Ko Wen-je, a doctor and former Taipei mayor from the Taiwan People's Party (TPP).

Lai, who is also Taiwan's Vice President, is looking to extend the DPP's hold on the presidency. A third elected term for the party will be unprecedented.

After the KMT lost to DPP in the 2000 Taiwan presidential election, putting an end to its 72-year streak, the presidency has traditionally seesawed between the two.

Meanwhile, the TPP, which started in 2019, is the relatively new kid on the block, although it has seen some success in mayoral elections.

According to the most recent polls, Lai is broadly seen as the frontrunner in the election, with a polling average of 36 per cent according to The Economist.

Trailing close behind is Hou with 31 per cent, followed by Ko in third place at 24 per cent.

However, Taiwan has a polling blackout in the final days before the election, which means that the last public polls were published on Jan. 2.

@mothershipsg All smiles as Taiwan’s three presidential candidates cast their votes that will see one of them elected. #taiwan #taiwanelection #news ♬ original sound - Mothership

DPP vs. KMT vs. TPP

The incumbent DPP and the main opposition KMT has opposing views of relations with China, with the latter broadly favouring closer ties than the former. However, both candidates have expressed their support for maintaining the status quo, instead of advocating for independence or unification.

This is arguably reflected in each party candidate's approach to cross-strait relations.

KMT's Hou has pledged to restart dialogue with China and employ deterrence and de-escalation, named the "3Ds tactic".

DPP's Lai has said he would "pursue peace through strength" but said he remains open to engagement with China under preconditions of "dignity" and "equality".

Ko, on the other hand, prides himself as a "centrist" and an alternative to the KMT and the DPP.

He favours exchanges with China and is known for uttering the phrase "two sides of the strait are one family".

What's happened on the ground so far

5pm: Polls close, DPP's Lai takes an early lead

BBC reported that all three presidential candidates have gained more than one million votes.

According to CTi News, Lai is the first to receive over two million votes.

Polls have closed in #Taiwan and vote counting has begun. Votes are counted by hand, and anyone can observe the tallying process. pic.twitter.com/su7w5WyGeZ

— TaiwanPlus News (@taiwanplusnews) January 13, 2024

According to several local live reports, the vote tally is similar to the polls, with Lai leading the pack, followed by Hou and then Ko.

Results after 30 minutes of vote counting: pic.twitter.com/9WQ1B0F18d

— TaiwanPlus News (@taiwanplusnews) January 13, 2024

2pm: 2024 Taiwan presidential election hashtag reportedly blocked on Weibo

Chinese social media platform Weibo has reportedly blocked a few hashtags related to the 2024 Taiwan presidential election, such as #台湾2024大选, as observed by Mothership on Jan. 13.

AFP reported that the hashtags were blocked after polls opened on Jan. 13 and the election became one of the platform's top-trending topics.

A notice posted on Weibo and seen by Mothership read: "In accordance with relevant laws, regulations and policies, the content of this topic is not displayed"

Mothership checked Weibo's top-trending topics at 2:44pm and saw that the 2024 Taiwan presidential election was not among the results.

A search for the election on another Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu returned no results.

6am: Eight China PLA aircraft, six ships detected

According to Al Jazeera, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence reported detecting eight military aircraft, one of which crossed into Taiwan’s southwestern air, at 6am, two hours before polls opened.

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence added that they also saw six ships, which they believe to be from the Chinese navy, around the Taiwan island.

They said: "Armed forces have monitored the situation and tasked aircraft, navy vessels and land-based missile systems to respond to these activities."

More Taiwan election coverage

Top image from hou.yuih/Instagram, william_chingte/Instagram, DoctorKoWJ/Facebook