Washington, 13 March 2024 (dpa/MIA) - US President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump were all but guaranteed to face off on November 5 in a rematch of the 2020 presidential election, after both achieved the required number of delegates to be nominated as candidates of the Democratic and Republican parties respectively.

Biden on Tuesday passed the required 1,968-delegate threshold to be nominated as the Democratic presidential candidate, according to a count by US broadcasters CNN and NBC following his victory in the Georgia primary.

As Biden had no serious competition in his party, it was already considered certain that the 81-year-old would be the Democratic candidate. He will be officially nominated at the Democratic National Convention set to take place in Chigago, Illinois in August.

Just hours later Trump passed the mark of 1,215 delegates needed to become the Republican candidate in the November 5 presidential election.

The 77-year-old's last serious rival in the Republican primary race, former UN ambassador and South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, withdrew from the Republican primary race last week. His nomination won't be official until the Republican Party Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in July.

To become a presidential candidate in the United States nominees must first prevail in internal party votes in the various states. As a rule, the delegates must abide by the voting results in the primaries and cannot simply vote for another candidate.

The so-called superdelegates - Democratic party officials who are allowed to vote in the selection of the candidate and are not bound to anyone - are unlikely to play a role this year. They can only vote if voting goes to a second round, which is regarded as extremely unlikely.

MIA file photo