Final phase of Tibetan exile polls sees strong turnout

Kullu: Tibetans living in exile in India and abroad, including the United States, Canada, Australia and Europe, voted in the second and final phase of elections on Sunday to elect members of the 18th Tibetan Parliament-in-exile.Thousands turned up at polling booths across Himachal Pradesh, including in Kullu, Kangra and Mandi districts, where the community resides.In Dharamsala — the seat of the Tibetan govt-in-exile — hundreds of Tibetans began queuing up in McLeodganj from the morning to cast their votes. A total of 93 candidates are contesting for the 45-member House, which includes 10 representatives each from the three traditional provinces of Tibet — Domey, Dotoe and Utsang. Two members each represent the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism, and two members stand for the pre-Buddhist Bon religion. The remaining five members come from the global Tibetan communities — two each from North America and Europe and one from Australasia.The Election Commission of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) — the top political and administrative body of the Tibetans in exile — released the list of final candidates on March 18. According to the Election Commission, a total of 91,042 voters, including 56,749 from India, Nepal and Bhutan and 34,293 from abroad, have registered for the election.The results would be declared by the commission on May 13.The first phase of the election was conducted on Feb 1, and the Election Commission on Feb 13 declared incumbent Sikyong (President) Penpa Tsering elected for a second term.Tsering won after securing 61% of the polled votes. According to Tibetan Election Commission rules, a candidate is deemed a winner if he or she secures more than 60% of the total votes in the first phase, eliminating the need for second-phase polling for Sikyong election.According to Tenzin Tsundue, a Tibetan freedom activist and writer, it's a rare feat for an exile community to pull off such a democratic exercise."Conducting free and fair elections has always been challenging as the Tibetan community is dependent on host countries. This is not possible without the support of the govt and people of India, which has enabled them to sustain a democratic community that conducts parliamentary and presidential elections every five years," said Tsundue."Also, our democracy is our reply to China. China may have its GDP, global trade and nuclear weapons, but people of China do not one thing that we have — democracy. We have developed robust democratic institutions in exile. They can learn from us," added Tsundue. MSID:: 130533128 413 |