By Tenzin Monlam
DHARAMSHALA, October 6: With only eleven days left for the preliminary elections, the Local Tibetan Election Commission (LEC) of Dharamshala, the virtual capital of the Tibetan exiles, on Monday extended the deadline for voter registration till 5 PM of October 9.
“Unlike the other Tibetan settlements, Dharamshala is a mobile community where the residents move to places. We have come across many complaints of missed deadlines. The local EC’s main function is to increase the voters’ participation in the elections. Therefore, we have extended the deadline,” said Sonam Dorjee, Settlement officer of Dharamshala, who also heads the LEC.
He said, “It is the sole decision of the LEC to extent the deadline in order to give chance to those who have missed the previous deadline or who are yet to register.”
The previous deadline for voter registration for those who reside in India was August 30.
Tenzin Choephel, Additional Election Commissioner, said, “We have actually closed the registration on August 30 and the extension is an understanding of the LEC. As far as we are aware, most of the voters in McLeod Ganj have already registered.”
Choephel also clarified that the Election Commission would announce a window of 15 days to register in February 2016, after the preliminary and before the final election, for those who turn 18 at the turn of the year and have not registered yet.
The preliminary election for the Tibetan Prime Minister (Sikyong) and members of the 16th Tibetan Parliament is slated for 18 October 2015. The final election would be held on 20 March 2016.
So far five candidates have declared their running for the highest office of the exile Tibetan government – Lobsang Sangay, Penpa Tsering, Lukar Jam, Tashi Wangdu and Tashi Topgyal.
Sonam Choephel Shosur, Chief Election Commissioner on October 3 visited Switzerland to explain the importance of active participation among Tibetans in the coming elections.
The Election Commissioners also visited 84 Tibetan communities in India from July 24 to September 4 to conduct workshops with local Election Commissions which are headed by the representative or settlement officers. They also discussed various essential topics; codes of conduct to follow in the upcoming election, prerequisites for the voters and evolution of the Tibetan democratic organizations.
