(TibetanReview.net, Jan13’21) – It is now all but certain that Penpa Tsering and Kelsang Dorjee Aukatsang (Kaydor) will be the two candidates for election as Sikyong, the executive head of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA). “All but certain” because this is based on unofficial counts and there is a provision for withdrawal of candidature after the Election Commission announces the results on Feb 8.
As empowered by the Tibetan election law, the Tibetan Election Commission had announced beforehand that there will be only two candidates for the election of Sikyong, made up of those getting the first and second highest number of votes in the candidate-selection poll that was held on Jan 3.
the unofficial tallies of votes made by the Tibetan Service of rfa.org and tibetsun.com both show that Penpa Tsering, former Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile (TPiE), has won the highest number of votes at over 23,100. He is followed by Kelsang Dorjee Aukatsang, the CTA’s Chief Resilience Officer, with more than 13,500 vote.
Ms Dolma Gyari, a former CTA minister, is not far behind with more than 12,800 votes. And Dongchung Ngodup, Representative at the Bureau of HH the Dalai Lama, New Delhi, who did not campaign himself, has won more than 9,200 votes.
According to tibetsun.com, only a few smaller polling places were still to announce their results.
More than 80,000 exile Tibetans had registered to vote, with reportedly around 60,000 actually taking part in the Jan 3 poll.
Also being counted are the votes for selecting candidates for the 45-member Tibetan Parliament in Exile, about which there have been no reports so far.
Voting for both the Sikyong and TPiE membership takes place on Apr 11.
