Dharamshala: The Election Commission of the Central Tibetan Administration held a press conference this afternoon, 13 February 2026, to announce the results of the preliminary election for the Sikyong and members of the 18th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile.
In accordance with Article 67(4) of the Election Rules and Regulations stipulating that “If a candidate secured more than 60 per cent of the total votes in the preliminary round, the final round shall not be conducted, and the candidate shall be declared elected as Sikyong,” the Election Commission declared incumbent Sikyong Penpa Tsering elected as the Sikyong for the 17th Kashag, as he received 61.025 per cent of the total votes.
The Election Commission disclosed that a total of 51,140 Tibetans participated in the Sikyong election, with 103 candidates contesting. Following the incumbent Sikyong Penpa Tsering, Kelsang Dorjee Aukatsang and Tsering Phuntsok secured 17,843 and 159 votes respectively.
As enshrined in Article 67 (3) of the Election Rules and Regulation, that “the Election Commission, after giving twenty days to withdraw candidature, should shortlist not more than six candidates for Sikyong from the preliminary election” and “Article 49 (1) (A) of the electoral rules and regulation,” which states that “the election commission after giving 30 days to withdraw candidature, should shortlist candidates not less than thrice the number of stipulated seats in the respective constituents of the Tibetan Parliament from the preliminary election”, the Election Commission declared 30 shortlisted candidates each from the three traditional provinces of Tibet; 6 candidates each from the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism and Bon religion, North & South America, and Europe & Africa; and 3 candidates from Australasia (excluding India, Nepal, and Bhutan). See the results below.
The Election Commissioner further announced that candidates for the 18th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile must confirm their candidature by 27 February 2026 by submitting a letter of confirmation to the Election Commission through their respective local Election Commission. The letter of confirmation should contain the candidate’s name, date of birth, copies of the first and last pages of their Green Book, a brief biography in Monlam Uni Ouchan 2 font (size 14, not exceeding 300 words), along with a recent passport-sized colour photograph.
Those seeking to withdraw their candidature may do so by submitting a written request to the Election Commission no later than 28 February 2026.
