Tibetan elections: 17 first-timers in the new 45-member parliament

Dharamshala: Seventeen first-time members have been elected to the 45-member 18th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, according to results declared by the Election Commission of the Central Tibetan Administration on Wednesday following the successful completion of the two rounds of the 2025–26 general election.The preliminary and final elections were held on Feb 1 and April 26 across 27 countries by a total of 1,737 election officers at 309 polling stations. The voter turnout in the preliminary round was 56.25% (51,140 voters), while the final round witnessed a participation rate of 45.71 per cent (41,638 voters) out of a total registered electorate of 91,073. During the final round, a total of 570 ballots were rejected as invalid during the counting process. Addressing a press conference, chief election commissioner Lobsang Yeshi said over the course of the electoral period, 100 meetings were convened with regional election officers and observers at 55 different locations across seven countries. The elections were not without their share of controversy. On April 23, the commission revoked the voting rights of the Choejor Tibetan settlement in Nepal following allegations of malpractice. After briefly reversing this decision on May 1, the commission changed its position again on May 5, ultimately declaring that the election could not be held in the settlement. This series of reversals sparked widespread debate and led to legal action by approximately 300 affected residents and monastic representatives. On May 11, the Supreme Justice Commission, the CTA's highest court, rejected an application for an interim injunction regarding the revocation. The chief election commissioner also highlighted the establishment of an additional 31 polling stations during the winter retail season for Tibetan sweater sellers, the successful conduct of polling for Tibetan residents in Russia, the unprecedented conduct of polling for Tibetan residents in South Korea, and similar efforts undertaken for Tibetan residents in Hawaii, which ultimately could not be implemented due to logistical limitations. In Feb, CTA president Penpa Tsering was re-elected for the top office, securing 61% of the total votes cast in the preliminary elections. Earlier, researchers at Digital Forensic Research Lab, a worldwide network of experts working on tracking disinformation, had claimed to have unearthed a China-linked online disinformation campaign reportedly attempting to undermine the elections. A report stated that these efforts involved the use of fake accounts, AI-generated content, and synchronised messaging aimed at discrediting Tibetan leadership and undermining confidence in the democratic process. Box Monastery bars monks from contesting political polls In an unprecedented move on May 11, Drepung Gomang Monastery, one of the largest Buddhist monastic institutions in exile, unanimously passed a resolution expelling a senior monk from the monastery's administrative and welfare association, citing repeated breaches of monastic discipline, and also barred monks under its jurisdiction from contesting political elections. Any monk wishing to enter electoral politics in the future must first formally resign from the monastery's disciplinary and administrative structure. Monks play a vital role in the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, holding dedicated seats representing the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism.