DPP presidential candidate nomination process to start in March

Taipei, Feb. 19 (CNA) The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) will start the nomination process to select its candidate for the 2020 presidential election in March, a party official said Tuesday, after President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told CNN in an interview that day she plans to run for re-election.

Lee Ching-feng (李慶鋒), who heads the DPP's organization department, said the party will kick off the nomination process in March, and aspirants can register to run in the week following the March 16 legislative by-elections.

If there is more than one candidate, the party will hold political platform presentations and carry out a national poll to determine who its presidential candidate will be, with an announcmeent likely in April, Lee said.

Tsai told CNN on Tuesday that she intends to run for re-election in 2020.

"It's natural that any sitting president wants to do more for the country and wants to finish things on his or her agenda," Tsai told CNN's Matt Rivers in an interview abroad the presidential plane, when questioned about her plans for the 2020 presidential election.

Asked if that means she plans to seek re-election, Tsai nodded and said "yes, yes."

Tsai said she was confident about her prospects, noting that it is "something I have prepared for."

But she is also aware of the challenges ahead.

"It's again another challenge. Being president, you're not short of challenges. At good times you have challenges of one sort, and in bad times you have challenges of another sort," Tsai told CNN.