New Delhi, September 3 – With 3 years remaining in office for the incumbent Kalon Tripa Samdhong Rinpoche the search is already on for his successor. A project to prepare candidates for the next executive head of the exile Tibetan government has been launched yesterday coinciding with the 48th Tibetan Democracy Day.
Thupten Samdup, a former member of the Tibetan Parliament has undertaken a personal initiative to establish a ‘vital process of pre-nomination; one that places the greater part of the onus on all exiled Tibetans to actively participate in the selection of candidates for the office of Prime Minister. Samdup has undertaken this project in order to help bring forward dynamic contestants for the upcoming election in 2011’.
His Holiness will have turned 81 by the end of the next Kalon Tripa’s term. This, Samdup says, will make the role of the next Prime Minister all the more crucial. “This new candidate must assume a greater load,” said Samdup. “The next Kalon Tripa must be someone with strong leadership skills, capable of leading the government, and bringing a clear vision that is bold and vibrant enough to also seize the interest and imagination of the young.”
A press statement issued yesterday by Samdup points towards the time factor and the need for a greater diversity of candidates as two major concerns for the election of the new Kalon Tripa.
Inspired by the excitement, idealism and energy generated by the candidacy of Senator Barak Obama in the United States, Samdup says there is a need for Tibetans to be roused to inject a similar enthusiasm and vision in their political process. Although the next election is some years away, “it is the opportune moment to begin our search for upcoming candidates. We have three years to find a worthy leader. It would be irresponsible to put off a search for candidates any later, as this period affords us just enough time to proceed. To wait any longer would be to court disaster.”
“In seeking and nominating candidates, we should aim to find someone who is at least equal in dedication and integrity as Samdhong Rinpoche,” Samdup says.
A website www.kalontripa.org will be launched in October 2008 with details of the project. The site will enable Tibetans with valid greenbook to file their nominations of candidates.
