(TibetanReview.net, May06’26) – After reversing on May 1 its Apr 23 decision to annul the Choejor (Choeten-Boudha and Jorpati) polling station for the final poll for the Tibetan Parliament in Exile election, the Election Commission of the Central Tibetan Administration has said May 5 that the final poll will not be held there after all. The decision has prompted a petition to the Tibetan Supreme Justice Commission (TSJC) from the aggrieved Jorpati voters.
While the Election Commission’s Apr 23 decision followed findings of gross irregularities in the conduct of the preliminary poll on Feb 1, the May 5 decision is stated to have followed suggestions from concerned exile Tibetan officials in Kathmandu that the poll cannot be held there.
The concerned local electoral officer in Kathmandu has reportedly cited “prevailing circumstances and logistical difficulties” in holding the final poll ordered by the Tibetan Election Commission.
But the Jorpati Tibetans voters disagree and have decided to sue the Election Commission before the TSJC. They have presented their legal petition on May 5 through their designated representative Mr Lobsang Tsering who has travelled from Kathmandu to Dharamshala for the purpose.
The petitioners are being represented before the TSJC by the Tibetan Legal Association, an NGO of Tibetan legal professionals based in Dharamshala.
Lobsang Tsering has said the petition has the backing of aggrieved voters from six affected monasteries and some 300 other, lay voters,
Chief Election Commissioner Lobsang Yeshi has defended the decision not to go ahead with the final poll for the Jorpati Tibetans. He has maintained that the commission’s decision was grounded on relevant statutory and regulatory provisions, and, in any case, the TSJC was there to rule on it, if a petition was filed.
He has said the Commission will issue a detailed clarification on May 13, when the official results of the final poll for the election of the 45-member, 18th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile will be announced.