Penpa has been the speaker of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile and also served as the representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to North America

Penpa Tsering will be the next President of the Tibetan govt in Exile (or Sikyong of Central Tibetan Administration) based out of Dharamshala.

In his first comments after election victory to any media outlet, Penpa, speaking to WION diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal said he will "fulfil the aspirations of the electorate in all matters including resolving the Sino Tibet conflict".

He also spoke on the Chinese claim on the next Dalai Lama.

Tibetans had voted in two rounds of voting, the first one in January and the second in April. The voting took place in India and across the world where Tibetan refugees are present. Penpa has been the speaker of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile and also served as the representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to North America.

Sidhant Sibal: Your first reaction to your victory?

Penpa Tsering: I fully respect the mandate of the public and as I have committed many times, I shall try to fulfil the aspirations of the electorate in all matters including resolving the Sino-Tibet conflict and looking after the welfare of the Tibetan people.

Sidhant Sibal: Your reaction to the Chinese claim on the succession of Dalai Lama?

Penpa Tsering: For that, I think the Chinese leadership will have to learn Buddhism to decide who should succeed His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Otherwise, they should respect the decision of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people since it is a purely religious matter

Sidhant Sibal: How will you deal with the COVID-19 crisis?

Penpa Tsering: Overall we have to work under the guidelines provided by the central govt of India, and the respective state govt where Tibetan settlements (are present). But for the Tibetan population, the effort I would be making would be to try to inoculate as many Tibetans as possible and try to provide medical equipment and aids where we have a larger number of cases.