(TibetanReview.net, May31, 2015) – Ahead of elections for the Sikyong and the Tibetan Parliament in Exile in 2016, the Standing Committee of the exile parliament has on May 29 elected two Additional Election Commissioners to assist the Chief Election Commissioner, said the exile administration on its Tibet.net website May 29.
The Additional Election Commissioners are Geshe Tenpa Tashi from Domey and Mr Tenzin Choephel from Dotoe. Both were born in Tibet, with Geshe Tenpa Tashi being a scholar and religious teacher from Drepung Gomang Monastery and Mr Tenzin Choephel being a former head of the Indo-Tibetan Mcleod Development Society and other local-level bodies. Mr Sonam Choephel Shosur is the Chief Tibetan Election Commissioner.
The Sikyong is the administrative head of the exile Tibetan administration based at Dharamshala, India. A Sikyong cannot serve for more than two consecutive terms and the current Sikyong Lobsang Sangay can stand for one more election for the post. Mr Tashi Wangchuk, the CEO of the Association of Tibetan Cooperatives in India, Bangaluru, is the first person to announce his candidature for the 2016 Sikyong election.
The next Tibetan parliament in exile, the 16th, will have 46 members – 10 each representing the three traditional provinces of Tibet, two each from the four traditions of Tibetan Buddhism and Tibet’s pre-Buddhist religion Bon, three representing Tibetans in North America, two representing Tibetans in Europe and one representing Tibetans in Australian and Asian regions other than India, Nepal and Bhutan.