Central Tibetan Administration general election, 2016

Central Tibetan Administration general election, 2016
Tibet
October 18, 2015. March 20, 2016[1]

  First party Second party
 
Candidate Lobsang Sangay Penpa Tsering
Party Endorsed by National Democratic Party Independent
Popular vote 33,234 24,752
Percentage 57.3% 42.7%

Sikyong before election

Lobsang Sangay
Independent

Elected Sikyong

Lobsang Sangay
Independent

Elections for the office of Sikyong (Prime Minister) and the Chitue (Members of the) Tibetan Parliament in Exile were held between October 18, 2015 and March 20, 2016. Tibetans in exile voted for the fourth time their political representative and executive of the Central Tibetan Administration the self-proclaim Tibetan government in exile.[2] The election was overseen and organized by the independent CTA agency, Tibetan Election Commission.

Incumbent Prime Minister Lobsang Sangay[3] run for re-election winning with 57.3% of the votes in the second round, over his main rival Speaker of the Parliament in Exile, Penpa Tsering.[4][5] Other candidates were Chairman of the Federation of Tibetan Cooperatives in India Tashi Wangdu and former Chinese political prisoner and president of Tibetan Ex-Political Prisoner's Association, Lukar Jam.[2][3] Except for Jam, all other candidates abide to the “Middle Way Approach" about the Chinese-Tibetan relationship, same that is endorse by the Dalai Lama, and consist in achieve real autonomy for Tibet inside the Chinese territory. Jam on the other hand is the only candidate that openly wants full independence of Tibet from China.[3]

For the first time this election showed and proliferation of political parties, something unusual in Tibetan politics.[6] The National Democratic Party, a moderate independent leaning party has been traditionally the only political party in the Tibetan diaspora.[2] The NDPT endorsed both Sangay and Pempa Tsering for their current offices. The pro-Middle Way approach Tibetan People’s Party endorsed Wangdu[7] and also presented its own candidates for Parliament and the radically separatist Tibetan National Congress endorsed Jam.[8]

Candidates needed to pass a preliminary election held on October 18, 2015[9][10] in which candidates required at least 33% of the votes in order to be eligible for March’s election.[11]

First round

Candidate Position Party Votes %
Lobsang SangayIncumbent Sikyong Endorsed by National Democratic Party 30,508 66.71%
Penpa TseringSpeaker of the ParliamentEndorsed by NDPT10,732 57.3%
Lukar Jam Former political prisoner and activist Endorsed by Tibetan National Congress 2,557 5.59%
Tashi Wangdu President of the Federation of Tibetan Cooperatives in IndiaEndorse by People's Party of Tibet1,8804.11%
Tashi Topgyal Independent CandidateIndependent Candidate1040.27

Referencas

  1. "Exile Tibetan elections: Preliminary round 18 October, final 20 March". Tibet Sun. 10 June 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 "Some Predictions and Thoughts on the 2016 Tibetan Election Season". The Tibetan Political Review. June 16, 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 Tenzin, Pam (16 July 2015). "The Race for Sikyong". Tibet Sun. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  4. "Sikyong 2016: Final round results". Tibet Sun. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
  5. "2016 TIBETAN PM (SIKYONG) ELECTIONS RESULTS". Phayul. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
  6. "Tibetan Parliament in Exile To See First Ever Opposition Party". The Tibet Post. 18 May 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  7. "Mr Tashi Wangdu - Sikyong 2016". Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  8. "New Party Fuels Debate on Tibet's Political Future". Radio Free Asia. 2013-02-22. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  9. "Election Commission Announces Preliminary and Final Election Dates for Sikyong and 16th Tibetan Parliament". June 10, 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  10. "Tibetans Worldwide Hold Preliminary Election for Sikyong and Tibetan Parliament". October 18, 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  11. "Tibetans Vote to Elect Political Leader, Parliamentarians". NDTV. October 18, 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/5/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.