Tibetans-in-exile vote in final phase of election for Sikyong

ibune News Service

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Dharamsala, April 11

Tibetan exiles today voted for the final phase of election for the post of Sikyong (Tibetan President-in-exile) and 45 members of Tibetan parliament-in-exile. The Tibetan exiles voted in 26 countries at polling booths set by Tibetan election commission. At McLeodganj, the headquarters of the Tibetan government-in-exile hundreds of Tibetans lined up in the morning to cast their votes.

The two final contestants for the post of Sikyong are Penpa Tsering, former speaker for Tibetan parliament-in-exile, and Kelsang Dorjee Aukatsang, a former bureaucrat in the Tibetan government-in-exile. One of these leaders will take over the reins of the Central Tibetan Administration from the two-term Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay in late May.

The incumbent Sikyong, Lobsang Sangay termed today’s election as “A proud day for Tibetans around the world.” In a statement issued here today, Sangay said that at a time when democracy remained a distant dream in the China-occupied Tibet, the spectacle of tens of thousands of diaspora Tibetans casting ballot to elect next Sikyong and members of the Tibetan Parliament in the Sunday final elections was very gratifying.

“The Tibetan democracy-in-exile reflects the true aspirations of our brothers and sisters inside Tibet,” said Lobsang Sangay. On April 11, around 83,000 Tibetan refugees scattered across 26 countries began casting their votes to elect the Sikyong, president of the Central Tibetan Administration and members of the 17th Tibetan Parliament.

As many as 93 candidates are in the run for the 45-seat Tibetan parliament-in-exile who represent the three traditional provinces of Tibet, four schools of Tibetan Buddhism and Bon religion and the Tibetan communities of North America, Europe and Australasia.