Romney's candidature to be formalised on Thursday

The Republican's nomination will become official after his acceptance speech, to challenge Obama in presidential race

Republican Mitt Romney is all set to challenge incumbent Barack Obama after the party nominated the former Massachusetts governor as its candidate for the presidential elections in November this year.

Romney won the nomination as he crossed the support of necessary 1,144 delegates during the ongoing Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida yesterday.

The convention also approved Congressman Paul Ryan as his vice presidential running mate.

Romney's nomination will become official after he delivers his acceptance speech on Thursday, campaign officials said. He will legally be able to spend money raised for the general-election campaign only after Thursday's speech.

Romney, 65, is the first Mormon to be nominated as the Republican presidential candidate.

Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement which began with the visions of Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s.

65-year-old Romney will now contest against Barack Obama in the November polls to occupy the White House as new US president.

Latest opinion polls indicate that Obama and Romney are in a statistical tie with each other.

Meanwhile during the convention, Republican speakers lashed out at President Obama and condemned the policies followed by him during his term as the president.

"The last four years under President Obama have been trying and troubling for this entire country. The tired big government policies of the past have failed us. We can't afford more disappointments. We need a new direction.

We need a new president," said Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee.

"The American people are still asking 'where are the jobs', but President Obama only offers excuses instead of answers. His record is a shadow of his rhetoric. Yet he has the nerve to say that he's moving us forward, and the audacity to hope that we'll believe him," said Joe Boehner, Speaker of the US House of Representatives.

In the speeches after the voting for the nomination process was over, Republican leaders lashed out at Obama and alleged that the nearly four years of his administration has failed to address American problems, the economy and unemployment in particular.

Obama, on the other hand, had recently lashed out at Romney for his announcement that he would repeal his health care bill.

"Governor Romney promised that sometime between taking the oath of office and going to the inaugural ball, he would sit right down, grab a pen and kick 7 million young people off their parents' plan by repealing health reform. Day one that's what he says he's going to do.  You know, maybe we should call his plan. Romney doesn't care, because I do care. I do care," the US President had said at a recent campaign speech.

Obama alleged that Romney wants to pass a new $5 trillion tax cut targeted towards the wealthiest Americans.

"That's not going to cut our debt. Ignoring inequality doesn't make it go away. Denying climate change won't make it stop. These things won't make for a brighter future, they won't make your future stronger. And so in two months, you get to choose the path that will actually lead to a better future," Obama said.