Dharamshala, 31 May 2026: In accordance with the rules and regulations of the Tibetan Election Commission, members of the 18th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile elected Dolma Tsering Teykhang as Speaker and Khenpo Sonam Tenphel as Deputy Speaker through a secret ballot conducted this afternoon.
Dolma Tsering Teykhang was elected Speaker with 22 votes against Khenpo Sonam Tenphel, who received 20 votes. Three ballots were declared invalid. With her election, Teykhang becomes the first woman to serve as Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile.
Khenpo Sonam Tenphel was elected Deputy Speaker with 22 votes against Karma Gelek, who secured 20 votes, while 3 ballots were declared invalid.
Brief Biographies
Dolma Tsering Teykhang was born on 1 July 1956 in Dagne, Tibet. She completed her school education, bachelor’s degree, and teacher training with the support and blessings of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA).
For 26 years, she served as a teacher in various Tibetan schools under the Department of Education of the CTA. She was President of the 9th and 10th Utsang Central Executive Committee and currently serves as an advisor to the committee.
A recipient of the 2001 Fulbright Scholarship, she studied Special Education in the United States while also raising awareness about the Tibetan cause among American and international students.
Teykhang was elected to the 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, and now the 18th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile. She served as Deputy Speaker of the 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile and has been a member of the Standing Committee and several other parliamentary committees. Throughout her parliamentary career, she has been a strong advocate for public concerns, actively participating in official visits and Tibet advocacy programs both in India and abroad.
She is the first woman to be elected Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile.
Khenpo Sonam Tenphel was born in Rekhe, Kham, on 18 July 1974. He began his primary education there before joining Nari Tashi Choeling Monastery, where he studied Buddhist teachings, meditation, and rituals.
After fleeing to India in 1993, he received an audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and later enrolled at the Ngagyur Nyingma Institute (Shedra) of Namdroling Monastery in Bylakuppe, South India. There, he earned a Higher Secondary Degree, a bachelor’s degree, and a master’s degree in Buddhist Philosophy, specialising in Buddhist sutras and tantras.
Following the completion of his studies in 2003, he was appointed disciplinarian at Namdroling Monastery by Kyabje Drubwang Penor Rinpoche, a position he held for three years. In 2011, he was awarded a Doctorate in Buddhist Philosophy (equivalent to a PhD).
He has received teachings and transmissions from numerous eminent Buddhist masters, including His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Kyabje Drubwang Penor Rinpoche, Kyabje Taklung Rinpoche, and Kyabje Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche.
Khenpo Sonam Tenphel was elected to the 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th Tibetan Parliaments-in-Exile, and now to 18th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile. He served as Deputy Speaker of the 15th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile and Speaker of the 16th and 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile.
– Report filed by Tibetan Parliamentary Secretariat
