Dharamshala, 18 May 2026: In accordance with the Charter of Tibetans in exile, Speaker Khenpo Sonam Tenphel of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile administered the oath of office to the new Parliament member Tashi Delek from Europe replacing Parliamentarian Thubten Wangchen earlier today.

Following the appointment of former parliamentarian Thubten Wangchen as the Representative to the Office of Tibet, Latin America, the replacement of the Parliamentarian was made in accordance with the Charter of Tibetans in exile.

In accordance to its Article 57 clause (II), the replacement of the Parliamentarian was made from a reserve waiting list maintained by the Central Tibetan Election Commission for the concerned constituency on the basis of the required minimum number of votes won by the candidates who did not make it to the Parliament during the last general election in 2021 and who had the highest number of votes among those in the existing reserve list.

In the presence of the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker, and standing committee members of the 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, the brief swearing-in ceremony for the Parliamentarian was held at 10: 00 am at the Parliament hall.

The swearing-in ceremony started with the offering of Tibetan traditional scarves to the portrait of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, followed by oath administration, serving of dresil (sweetened rice), and butter tea.

The ceremony concluded with the presentation of Tibetan traditional scarves to congratulate the new MP by the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker, members of the Standing Committee, and Secretary-General of the Tibetan Parliamentary Secretariat..

Brief Bio:

Parliamentarian Tashi Delek was born in 1980 in Minyak, Tibet. He currently serves as the Education Director at the Tibetan Cultural Center in Belgium. At the age of eight, he enrolled in a monastery to begin his education and later studied at Serta Ngarig Nangten Lobling.

In 2002, he came into exile in India as a refugee and studied at Sherap Gatsel Ling School, where he also served as a Tibetan language teacher for newly arrived students.

Beginning in 2007, he worked as a journalist for Tibet Express (Bodkyi Bangchen) and Voice of America’s Tibetan-language service. He also completed two rounds of legal training within the Tibetan exile community and served as a legal practitioner in the Tibetan exile legal system.

After arriving in Belgium in late 2013, he began serving the Tibetan Cultural Center the following year as Secretary and Education Director.

In addition, he has worked with various organisations, including the Chushi Gangdruk regional chapter in Bylakuppe, South India, and served as the first Secretary of the Khampa Writers’ Group.

– Report filed by Tibetan Parliamentary Secretariat