Kalon Dicki Chhoyang resigns
DHARAMSALA, Feb 29: Tibetan cabinet minister for the Department of Information and International Relations of the Central Tibetan Administration, Ms Dicki Chhoyang has resigned from her post before the completion of her tenure.
She made the announcement to a group of Tibetan journalists on Feb 28 at the CTA headquarters.
“With a sad heart, I resigned today as Kalon for the Department of Information and International Relations for the Central Tibetan Administration,” she wrote in the press statement.
“My decision was made with careful deliberation, bearing in mind our collective interest and the significant challenges that lie ahead. It has been a tremendous honour to serve the Tibetan people as Kalon,” she added.
Though she refused to take questions from the journalists, she said she will provide the details behind her resignation in the near future.
Her sudden resignation three weeks before election for future Sikyong and Members of the 16th Tibetan Parliament-in-exile has shocked the Tibetan community in exile, with many questioning the timing of her resignation and calling it a political move.
Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay confirmed the resignation of his cabinet minister at a press conference and said: “She resigned from her post so that she could take part in the upcoming Tibetan elections as the Tibetan electoral rules prohibit an incumbent minister from taking part in election activities.”
The election for the political head of the Tibetan people and Members of the Tibetan Parliament-in-exile will be held on Mar 20, 2016.
The incumbent Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay is being challenged for the post of Sikyong by the incumbent Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament, Mr Penpa Tsering.