Geneva, Oct. 3, 2015: Mr. Sonam Choephel Shosur, Chief Election Commissioner of the Central Tibetan Administration is on an official visit to Switzerland to explain the importance of active participation among Tibetans in the coming general election of Sikyong (Political Leader) and 16th Tibetan Parliament-in-exile.
Local Election Commissioner Mr. Ngodup Dorjee and Vice-President of Local Tibetan Assembly Mr. Lhanying Pema Tsering welcomed Mr. Sonam Choephel Shosur on 3 October 2015 at 0900 hrs morning at Zurich international airport on his official visit to Switzerland and escorted to Rapperswil-Jona, where meeting program was scheduled at Hotel Kreuz.
As per schedule, program started with singing of Tibetan national anthem. Mr. Sonam Choephel, Chief Elecetion Commissioner has been introduced to members of Local Election Commission, members of observer and Tibetan community leaders of Switzerland & Liechtenstein with introductory remarks by Mr. Ngodup Dorjee. The Chief Election Commissioner stressed the importance of active participation in this coming general election 2015-2016 by Tibetans in diaspora. He also explained the changes and insertion of new articles in Election rules & regulation as compare to past, specifically article 24 and its detail guidelines on accountability of contesting candidates etc.
In the after-lunch session, at around 1300 hrs, the Chief Election Commissioner addressed around 150 Tibetans who came to listen from nearby areas. The introductory speech was delivered by Local Election Commissioner Mr. Ngodup Dorjee along with brief report of work carried out so far by the Office of the Local Election Commission of Switzerland & Liechtenstein as per instructions of the Chief Election Commission, Dharamasala. The President of Local Tibetan Assembly Mr. Tenzin Nyingbu introduced organizational structure of Tibetan communities of Switzerland and their contribution.
The Chief Election Commissioner spoke about history of Tibetan democracy and vision of His Holiness the Dalai Lama who have worked so hard over the last 60 years to transform Tibetan society into a complete democratic system with devolution of political authority five years ago.
During question & answer session, around 10-12 questions were posed by the public for clarifications on voter registrations and other important issues.
The program went beyond schedule by 15 minutes due the interest the talk generated among the attendees. The program ended with a vote of thanks by Vice-President Mr. Lhanying Pema Tsering of the Local Tibetan Assembly.
The Chief Election Commissioner left Switzerland for Barcelona, Spain and other parts of the European countries on 4 October.
– Report filed by Office of Tibet, Switzerland –
