(TibetanReview.net, May03’26) –The Election Commission of the Central Tibetan Administration has on May 1 withdrawn its earlier decision on Apr 23 to not just countermand but annul the Choejor (Choeten-Boudha plus Jorpati) polling station for the final poll after findings of gross irregularities in a multitude of instances during the preliminary poll held on Feb 1.
The final polling was held on Apr 26. It is not clear yet when the Jorpati final repolling will be held. But it may have to be well before May 13, when the final results of the 45-member, 18th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile election are due.
The about-turn came after the annulment decision caused heated online discussions and strong complaints and requests for reconsideration from the affected voters, according to Tibetan media reports from Dharamshala.
Although the Election Commission’s Apr 23 decision, stated to be contained in a letter to the responsible electoral officer at Jorpapti, only appeared to annul the affected polling station for the final poll, it now also appears to have deprived the local Tibetans of their voting right.
The decision to restore the voting right of the Jorpati Tibetans is also stated to be contained in a letter to the concerned local electoral officer, rather than being circulated as a public notice, with the additional electoral officer held responsible for irregularities during the preliminary poll being replaced. It will be held under the direct supervision of the Kathmandu regional electoral officer.
If the Apr 23 decision to annual Jorpati for the final poll generated controversy, so also has the decision to restore it, all the more because of its lateness, and when unofficial results have been posted online by Tibetan media outlets. (For more on this, see https://www.tibetanreview.net/as-tibetans-vote-for-their-18th-parliament-in-exile-a-polling-station-in-nepal-annulled-for-irregularities-during-prelim-poll/