Dharamsala, September 25 – The Tibetan Women’s Association yesterday celebrated 50 “glorious” years of Tibetan Democracy in exile at the new auditorium of the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives.
Presiding over the event as the chief guest was T S Krishnamurthy, former Chief Election Commissioner of India, who inaugurated a new publication of the organization Exile Tibetans – Mass Mock Election and its findings . The Tibetan version of the book was launched by Jampal Chosang, the Chief Election Commissioner of the Tibetan government in Exile.
Addressing the gathering of Tibetan government officials, incumbent and former members of the Tibetan parliament, and representatives of various Tibetan NGOs, the former CEC of India said there are many challenges to democracy, and its success depends of the people who implement the democracy. Krishnamurthy, who had been invited as an observer to the elections in Zimbabwe and the US Presidential Elections in 2004, also briefed the audience about various democracies of the world he had seen and expressed his opinions about them.
“There are good things and bad things in Indian democracy, learn only good things from Indian Democracy”, Krishnamurthy advised the Tibetans. Krishnamurthy also asked the Tibetans to read his book Miracles of Democracy to get a better understanding of his views and know about his experiences.
On asked about his opinion on the Tibetan electoral system’s provision of more than one vote for an individual, Krishnamurthy said he would not like to comment on what many efficient and expert Tibetans have written in the charter according to the exile circumstances. He, however said, that his personal belief was that “one man should have one vote and that vote should count.”
The Tibetan CEC Mr. Jampal Chosang lauded the Indian democracy calling it one of the world’s most vibrant democratic systems. Mr. Jampal also thanked the government and people of India for hosting the Tibetan people for the last 51 years and contributing to the evolution of the Tibetan democracy in exile which will witness the first ever democratic transfer of the executive power in the history of Tibetan nation.
The TWA launched a short documentary film on the Tibetan people’s participation in the mock election it conducted earlier this year on the birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
