Deadlock Ends, 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile Resumes

By Tenzin Samten / October 13, 2021;

The 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile (TPiE) has resumed normal operations now that all Members of Parliament have taken their oath. The Pro-tem Speaker, Dawa Tsering, who is also the longest serving TPiE member, took his oath, followed by Khenpo Sonam Tenphel who has been elected Speaker and Dolma Tsering, Deputy Speaker.

Khenpo Sonam Tenphel, a Nyingma constituency member,gained 23 votes against Dolma Tsering who secured 22 votes, while Dolma Tsering was elected Deputy Speaker with 23 votes against Namgyal Dolker who gained 18 votes. Youdon Aukatsang secured two votes and two votes were deemed disqualified.

The parliamentary deadlock originated last spring with the impeachment of the three Justice Commissioners; without the Justice Commissioners the newly-elected Members of Parliament were unable to take their oaths in the usual way – this led to a dispute and Parliament was unable to convene. Because the Members had not taken oath, the new Sikyong, Penpa Tsering, was unable to appoint his Kashag [Cabinet].

The five Tibetan MPs from the US, Europe, and Australasia called for an internal meeting among the new Parliamentarians to find a way to resolve the stalemate. This took place on September 27 – 29. When no agreement was reached during this meeting, Parliamentarians agreed to consult His Holiness the Dalai Lama and follow his advice as to the way forward.

On October 7, responding to the appeal letter submitted by the Parliamentarians, His Holiness expressed “disappointment” that the 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile was unable to convene and advised them to take their oath of office according to the provisions of the Tibetan Charter, or recommended the Election Commission exercise its authority, again according to the Charter, to enable Parliament move forward.

After receiving advisory letter from His Holiness, all 45 MPs unanimously decided to take oath under the Charter.

The Speaker and the Deputy Speaker took their oath of the Office from the Chief Justice Commissioner on October 9.