Standing Committee of TPiE elects two Additional Election Commissioners

Geshema Delek Wangmo (L) and Former MP Sonam Gyaltsen (R). Image: TPiE

DHARAMSALA, 29 July: Geshema Delek Wangmo and Sonam Gyaltsen were elected as two Additional Election Commissioners of the Central Election Commission for the Tibetan general elections-2021.

The announcement was made by the Standing Committee of the 16th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile (TPiE) on Tuesday.

Geshema Delek Wangmo, teacher of Dolma Ling Nunnery and Mr Sonam Gyaltsen, former Tibetan Parliamentarian and senior Professor of College for Higher Tibetan Studies (Sarah), were unanimously elected by the members of the Standing Committee, the TPiE declared on its official webpage.

They were elected as per sub clause (a) of clause (2) of Article (97) as enshrined in the Charter of Tibetans in Exile, the report said.

The aforementioned article states that “As and when the Sikyong and the Tibetan Parliament elections are to be held, two Additional Election Commissioners shall be required; they will serve for the period from the announcement of the start of the election process until the declaration of the final voting results.”

The article further states that “For this purpose, the Chief Justice Commissioner of the Tibetan Supreme Justice Commission, the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament, and the Sikyong shall together constitute an ad hoc nomination committee of three members solely for the purpose of drawing up a list of candidates numbering at least twice the number of posts to be filled.”

Since the house is not in session presently, the nomination filed by the ad hoc nomination committee was voted on by the Standing Committee of the Tibetan Parliament, as per the sub clause (b) of clause (2) of Article (97) at its 324th meeting.

Tenzin Dhonyoe, member of Tibetan National Sports Association (TNSA) and Dr Choelo Thar of Men-Tse-Khang were the other two candidates nominated by the ad hoc Nomination Committee.

The incumbent CTA President Dr Lobsang Sangay, the political head of the Tibetan people, will complete his second term in office in May 2021.

The 2021 Tibetan general elections will see Tibetans in exile elect their new CTA President(Sikyong) and members of the 17th TPiE.

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