Tenth Session of Tibetan Assembly to be Held this September
Dharamshala 7 June 2005: The tenth session of the 13th Assembly of Tibetan People’s Deputies (ATPD) will be held from 14-23 September.
The ATPD is the highest elected legislative organ of the Tibetans in exile.
This will be the second-last session of the present ATPD before its term expires in May 2006.
The ATPD has 46 members. Of them 43 are elected directly by the exile Tibetans.
Tibetans belonging to the three traditional provinces of Tibet–U-Tsang, Dotoe and Domed–elect 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 nominated directly by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Any Tibetan who has reached the age of 25 has the right to contest elections to the ATPD. The elections are held every five years and any Tibetan who has reached the age of 18 is entitled to vote.