Election Frenzy Returns As Counting Ends Today
Saturday, 5 November 2005, 2:00 PM
Dharamshala: Election frenzy has returned to the Tibetan Diaspora after a brief lull since the primaries of the Assembly of the Tibetan People’s Deputies last September.
As the computer counting of ballots wrapped up this morning, the Tibetan Election Commission is set to declare the results on Tuesday.
Top-down lists of nominees, at least thrice the number of allocated seats, will now be released for each of the 10 constituencies.
Those in the know say most of the incumbent deputies have bagged enough votes to secure a place in the listings.
However, many new faces are also expected to top the charts.
After the declaration of results, a grace period of 60 days is offered to all the candidates to either confirm or withdraw their nominations.
Thereafter, the Commission declares a final list of nominees, at least twice the number of allocated seats, for every constituency.
Along with the primaries of the Kalon Tripa, the final round of Assembly elections will be conduced on 18 March 2006.
Out of the present 46 deputies, 43 are directly elected by the Tibetan people.
Tibetans belonging to the three traditional provinces of Tibetâ€â€ÂÂU-Tsang, Dotoe and Domedâ€â€ÂÂelect ten representatives each.
Two members each are elected from the ecclesiastical communities of the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism and the traditional Bon.
Three members are elected by the Tibetan communities in the West: two from Europe and one from North America.
In addition, three members with distinction in the fields of art, science, literature and community service are appointed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
All Tibetans above 25 years of age have the right to contest Assembly elections and all those aged above 18 are entitled to vote.
The five-year term of the incumbent 13th Assembly expires in May 2006.
(www.tibet.net is the official website of the Central Tibetan Administration.)