Dharamshala: In a press conference held on 5th August 2020, the Election Commission has officially announced the commencement of the electoral process of the 2021 General Elections of Sikyong and members of the 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile.  As per the provisions of Article 97 (4) of the Chapter VIII of the Charter of Tibetans-in-Exile, the Articles 17, 18, 20, 21 of the Election Rules and Regulations and the recent amendments in the Article 16 (4) appendix (a), it has been decided to conduct a fresh voter’s registration.

The Chief Election Commission of CTA today once again announced the registration of voters for 2021 General Elections of Sikyong and members of the 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile in addition to the Tibetan electoral rules and regulations. As per the announcement, the Regional Election Commissions, the Registration Officers, and the general voters are hereby requested to follow the voter’s registration process as per the Election rules and regulations and the guidelines mentioned below:

1. All those who fulfill the conditions laid down in Article 18 (4) are eligible to vote.
2. As per Article 18 (a) and (b) of election rules and regulations, after examining the Green Book payment details of all those who have attained the age of 18,  the Registration Officer shall then register them as per their constituency, stamp their Green Book with a registration number beginning from a single digit 1 and signed by the Registration Officer.
3. Voter’s registration shall begin on 1st September 2020 and must conclude by 15th October 2020.
4. As per the provisions of Article 18 (4), any Tibetan citizen who completed 18 years of age on 31st October 2020 are eligible to register.  However, those who fall under the category of people specified in Article 18 (5) are disqualified from voter registration.
5. All registered voters as per law must have paid their Green Book dues up to 31st March 2020.
6. Since voter registration is extremely important, we urge all Tibetan people who are eligible to vote to kindly register within the given time.

Despite the ongoing socio-economic and political crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic, Chief Election Commissioner appealed the Tibetans around the world for their complete participation in the polls and to promote free, fair, and credible election.

For any information on Tibetan elections, Tibetan charter, Tibetan electoral rules and regulations, voter education, EC announcements, previous election results, and other relevant resources, please visit https://tibetanelection.net/.

Chief Election Commissioner Mr. Wangdu Tsering Pesur addresses the media on the upcoming voter’s registration for the 2021 General elections of Sikyong and 17th TPiE. photo/Tenzin Phende/CTA