Tenzin Norzin* presents her case for the election of Mr. Kelsang Phuntsok Jungney as a member of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile from North America in the upcoming, 2026 elections.
As a young Tibetan who cares deeply about the future of our community, our institutions, and our collective identity, and with great thought and conviction, I offer my full endorsement of kelsang Phuntsok Jungney la for the 2026 North and South America Chithue election.
Many of us in my generation navigate two worlds—the Western world we live in and the Tibetan pride we carry. But navigating two cultures cannot become an excuse. It may explain our struggles, but it does not absolve us of our responsibilities. For too long, the language barrier has kept many young Tibetans from fully understanding our own historical truths and the broader political landscape. That gap leaves us vulnerable to forces—both external and internal—that seek to undermine our Kundun and weaken our Central Tibetan Administration.
Let me say this clearly: Kundun and the CTA are the backbone of our identity in exile. Without them, we would not exist as a people with a name, a language, or a political future. Without them, there is no basis and no legitimacy to our existence.
In just a couple of decades, our generation will receive the handoff—the responsibility, the institutions, and the future of our people. If we do not understand our political system, we risk inheriting instability or becoming instruments in agendas that work against our collective wellbeing.
The last election, and the constitutional crisis that followed, made this painfully clear. A constitutional crisis is what happens when the machinery of democracy stops working, and our community came dangerously close to that point. We witnessed parliamentary sessions so emotionally charged that they had to be suspended. And every adjournment drains resources from an already limited budget.
This is instability we cannot afford—morally, politically, or financially.
In my view, one of the primary contributors to that crisis was the lack of deep understanding of the Charter among many MPs. The Charter is not optional. It is our constitutional foundation. When individuals begin improvising their own rules whether regarding oath-taking or parliamentary procedure, chaos is inevitable.
This is precisely why we need someone like kelsang lak in Parliament.
He understands both the letter and the spirit of the Charter. His clarity, his conviction, and his constitutional grounding would have prevented the spiral we saw in the last term.
Beyond constitutional knowledge, Kelsang la brings something our parliament urgently needs: emotional steadiness and crisis- management skills. As a psychiatric nurse, he has years of experience de-escalating conflict, navigating high-pressure situations, and guiding people through charged emotions with calm and clarity. These are the exact qualities required to restore decorum and to keep parliamentary discussions focused on substance instead of ego clashes.
And we cannot ignore the larger truth: much of the polarization we see today—online and offline—has roots in unhealed generational trauma. Older generations held our community together through unshakeable faith in Kundun and deep spiritual grounding. But as newer generations emerge, some of that grounding is lost, especially when we drift away from our language and culture.
This is where Kelsang la’s contribution is unique.
For more than a decade, he has given up his weekends to run a Tibetan Sunday school in San Francisco—one of the largest Tibetan communities in the diaspora. While many of us rest, he balances a demanding nursing career with the immense responsibility of nurturing a Tibetan-speaking, Tibetan-thinking younger generation.
His commitment to Tibetan language is not just about education. It is a deeply personal stand against identity erasure. No one asked him to do it. No one obligated him. He took it upon himself because he understands that our survival as a people depends on it. His work is a frontline defense against the erasure of our identity.
Kelsang la embodies the resilience that Tibetans inside Tibet hold every day. He is not only a leader for those of us in exile, he represents the unbreakable spirit of our homeland. Every step he takes to preserve our culture becomes a message of hope to our brothers and sisters inside Tibet. He bridges the distance between exile and homeland, reminding us that we are one people, no matter where we live.
He also carries a legacy shaped by discipline, service, and patriotism. His father, Jigmey Jungney la, one of our longest-serving public servants and the current Representative of the Office of Dalai Lama in New Delhi, exemplified these values throughout Kelsang la’s upbringing. These values do not merely inform his leadership, they define it.
Some may question his earlier involvement with RTYC. But people grow. Youthful activism evolves. As Kelsang la deepened his understanding of geopolitics and global diplomacy, he embraced the maturity and foresight of Kundun’s Middle Way Approach. He is not frozen in the past. He has evolved into a principled leader who understands what the world demands from us today.
Our generation cannot choose lightly. We cannot afford leaders driven by ego, reaction, or personal grudges. We need clarity, maturity, and steadiness. We need leadership guided by Kundun’s wisdom.
In Kelsang Phunstok Jungney la, we find all of this—constitutional grounding, emotional steadiness, principled leadership, and a lifelong record of service. At this critical moment in our history, he is the right leader at the right time.
To my fellow young voters across North and South America: I urge you to join me. Let us choose a leader who understands our history, honors our values, and is ready to guide us with wisdom into a stable and stronger future.
For our values, for our future—
Vote for Kelsang Phuntsok Jungney la.
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* Tenzin Norzin is a Minnesota-based registered nurse with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. She enjoys sharing her thoughtful perspectives on Tibetan civic life and cultural affairs.