By Tenzin Monlam
DHARAMSHALA, October 26: Tibetan residents under Dharamshala Tibetan Settlement Office (TSO) jurisdiction today cast their votes in the preliminary elections for the 9th Dharamshala Local Tibetan Assembly (LTA).
“We will be declaring the results by tomorrow and will have the final election after ten days,” said Dawa Rinchen, Dharamshala Settlement Officer, adding that over 6,000 eligible voters will cast their votes in 12 polling stations in and around Dharamshala.
The Settlement Officer also stated that it is wrong to consider the LTA voting as any less important than any other elections. The TSO will be shortlisting 30 candidates for the finals after the preliminary election.
“Since Dharamshala is the abode of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. I consider Dharamshala’s LTA and TSO as an integral part of the Tibetan set up here,” said Tsering Yangzom, who is also one of the preliminary candidates.
Expressing similar views, Thupten Tenzin, a local Tibetan resident said, “I feel it is equally important as our members of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile. As a Dharamshala resident, the members of the local assembly play as an important role.”
The members of the Local Tibetan Assembly question the Tibetan Settlement Officer during the assembly sessions, much like a local parliament where the administration is represented by the Tibetan Settlement Officer.
The tenure of each LTA is three years and the term of 8th LTA ends this year. Dharamshala TSO’s jurisdiction stretches from Upper TCV School in Upper Dharamshala to Gopalpur area, where Gopalpur TCV School is the prime Tibetan inhabited region.
