Domed Deputy’s Election Short of Minimum Percentage of Vote
Dharamsala, 9 February: The election of the Domed deputy to replace former deputy Dukar Tsering who had earlier resigned from the Assembly of the Tibetan People’s Deputies, will have to be held again as it failed to produce the requisite result as per the electoral regulations of ATPD’s election.
The Election Commission was to declare the new Domed deputy on 5 February but it could not do so since none of the four contestants were able to secure the minimum requirement of 33% vote.
The failure to secure the minimum vote requirement is attributed to the fact that only 25% of the voters registered by the Election Commission actually took part in the election.
The four contestants to a Domed deputy’s seat had a very close competition. Tenzin Gonpo just ran short of 0.78% to be elected as a Domed deputy. Mr. Namgyal Dorjee, the Election Commissioner of the exile Tibetan administration expressed disappointment at the very low voter turnout for the election of the domed deputy.
However, the Election Commissioner said, “The Election Commission does not consider the low turnout of voters as poor public co-operation. The timing of the election in the midst of sweater selling season for the majority of Tibetans, and the month of religious sermons coinciding with the election, could be the reason for the low turn out of the voters.”