The

Central Tibetan Administration The Central Tibetan Administration (, , ) is the government-in-exile of Tibet, based in Dharamshala, India. It comprises a judiciary branch, a legislative branch, and an executive branch, and offers support and services to the Tibetan exile c ...

, a

government-in-exile A government-in-exile (GiE) is a political group that claims to be the legitimate government of a sovereign state or semi-sovereign state, but is unable to exercise legal power and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile usu ...

of Tibet based in India, held an election for its next leader, the

Sikyong The () is the political leader of the Central Tibetan Administration, a Tibetan exile organisation in India also known as the Tibetan government-in-exile based on the 2011 Charter of Tibetans-in-exile. The title was created in 2012 after the ...

, in 2021. Candidate

Penpa Tsering Penpa Tsering (; born 1967) is a Tibetan politician based in India. He is the second democratically elected Sikyong of the Central Tibetan Administration in India. He succeeded the last Sikyong Lobsang Sangay on 27 May 2021. Penpa Tsering was the ...

won the election and succeeded Dr.

Lobsang Sangay Lobsang Sangay (, ; born 5 September 1968) is a Tibetan-American politician in exile who was Kalon Tripa of the Tibetan Administration in India from 2011 to 2012, and Sikyong of the Central Tibetan Administration in India from 2012 to 2021. T ...

, who has served for two consecutive terms as Sikyong.

Sikyong Candidates

The first Tibetans to publicly announce their proposed candidacy for the position of Sikyong were former minister Dolma Gyari; former minister, representative of the Dalai Lama in America and acting president of the

Tibet Fund The Tibet Fund is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in New York City, New York, United States. It was founded in 1981 under the auspices of the Dalai Lama. The Tibet Fund is the primary funding organization for health, education, refugee r ...

Lobsang Nyandak Lobsang Nyandak, sometimes written Lobsang Nyendak () also called Lobsang Nyandak Zayul () is a Tibetan diplomat and politician. born in 1965 in Kalimpong, India where he performed his studies in Herbertpur and at Panjab University in Chandigarh. ...

; and member of parliament Acharya Yeshi Phuntsok.Choekyi Lhamo
Preparations for 2021 general elections underway, says Election Commissioner
''

Phayul.com Phayul.com, also known as Fatherland in Tibetan, is an English language news portal that publishes news and opinion about Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the T ...

'', 27 July 2020 Kelsang Dorjee Aukatsang, Tashi Wangdu, and

then announced their candidacy for the election of Sikyong on 2 September 2020. Ngodup Dongchung announced his candidacy on 9 September, and Tashi Topgyal on 10 September.

Smartvote Tibet

Throughout 2020, a civil society initiative called

Smartvote {{DISPLAYTITLE:smartvote smartvote is a Swiss voting advice application (VAA) similar to ''Stemwijzer'' in the Netherlands or ''Wahl-o-Mat'' in Germany. In Switzerland, smartvote has been offering its services since 2003, and since 2005 it has been ...

Tibet invited Tibetans to submit questions for Sikyong and MP candidates in order to build an informed electorate. Smartvote Tibet is an initiativ
formed by a group of Tibetans
who have a background in political science, history, psychology, technology and human rights law. Once the public submits questions on a wide range of current issues, the candidates answer them. Then, voters can answer the same set of questions, after which they receive a list of candidates that best match their preferences. The project Smartvote Tibet was covered by Tibetan media outlets such a
Radio Free AsiaVoice of Tibet
an
Phayul
In a piece profiling younger candidates

mentioned Smartvote. An article about the advantages and challenges of Smartvote Tibet was written by team member Sonam Palmo Brunner an
published by Global Voices
The platform is an adapted version of

, which was first developed in 2003 by Politools in Switzerland. The tool has been successfully implemented for regional and national elections in Switzerland, Australia, Luxembourg, Austria, Scotland as well as in the European Union.

Dates

The primary election of Sikyong and MPs is announced for 3 January 2021, with the results set to finalize by 8 February. Hundreds of voters, most wearing facemasks, using hand sanitizer, and maintaining social distancing, voted in

Dharamshala Dharamshala (, ; also spelled Dharamsala) is a town in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It serves as the winter capital of the state and the administrative headquarters of the Kangra district since 1855. The town also hosts the Tibeta ...

, India. Following the initial primary, the two Sikyong candidates receiving the highest vote share move on to the second round. The date for the second round is set for 20 March.

Sikyong Candidates

Smartvote Tibet

Dates

References

See also