 MP Dolma Gyari prepares to vote in the mock election. |
The third direct election of the Kalon Tripa is one of the most significant political events for the Tibetan electorate. “TWA is steadfast in our commitment to making the 2011 election a successful election, especially in terms of voter participation,” said TWA's vice president Samten Chodon. “We are determined to prepare the Tibetan voters for the primary and the final election of Kalon Tripa. The mock election is the first step in mobilizing the Tibetan electorate."
TWA's general secretary, Tseyang Oshoe, expressed confidence that this first step in the Kalon Tripa election will shine much needed light on the process, the candidates and on voter participation. “We wish to promote the education and training of the Tibetan electorate to assure that they exercise their franchise and thereby become an integral part of the election of their political representatives.”
To ensure a non-partisan process, TWA has chosen not to endorse any candidates nor reproduce any nomination list presently being circulated. In turn, TWA and its regional chapters have made every effort to assure the credibility of this mock election in order to ensure that it mirrors the real election next spring. The mock election included: the election dossier, identity verification, a seal of black ink on the voter's finger, filling the voting form in all confidentiality and the use of ballot boxes. The counting will also "be done in the fairest and the most transparent means and it witnessed by the executive members of the prominent organizations" said Karma Yongdon, the president of RTWA Dharamsala.
After the mock election, the executive members of regional chapters of TWA brought the ballots to the 10th Working Committee Meeting of TWA in Manali (Himachal Pradesh) from July 16 to 22 this year, for an aggregate and transparent counting.
The central TWA office is currently analyzing voter turnout from the mock election, and will soon produce a detailed report that breaks down the result of voter participation. The report, which will be launched on September 10 this year,
on the occasion of the 26th anniversary of TWA's re-founding in exile, will also profile all the names of the candidates elected by the voters of the July 6 Mock Election. Following the primary election for Kalon Tripa on October 3 this year, TWA will convene a televised debate among the candidates. This debate will provide the candidates with a platform to affirm and elaborate their candidacy, and an opportunity for an intellectually stimulating discussion about the issues and the concerns that confront the Tibetan people.
Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament, Mr. Penpa Tsering, studies
the ballot.
The tide of Tibetan democracy changed in the year 2000 during the 40th year of the Tibetan democracy in exile, when His Holiness the Dalai Lama made a landmark decision that called for the office of the Kalon Tripa to be elected directly by the Tibetan people, rather than being elected by the Parliament. This historic proclamation has served the Tibetan Diaspora well. It signals a process of renewal and transformation in the political life of the Tibetan people. The direct election of the Kalon Tripa furthers the goal that secular Tibetan democratic institutions lead in the democratic governance of the Tibetan people in exile.
This article is adapted from the original, first published by Tibetan Women’s Association. For more information about the Kalon Tripa election process, please see these sites:
- Tibetan Women’s Association: www.tibetanwomen.org
- Tibetan Political Review: www.tibetanpoliticalreview.org
- Kalon Tripa 2011, an independent web site devoted to the election process: www.kalontripa.org
- Tibetan Election Commission: www.tibet.net/en/index.php?id=245