Dharamshala: On the first day of the first session of the 18th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, six candidates were elected as members of the 17th Kashag of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) under the provisions of Article 22 of the Charter of the Tibetans-in-Exile.
The Article stipulates, “The duly elected Sikyong, after having taken his or her oath of office, shall present to the Tibetan Parliament a list of number of candidates as he or she may require for his or her Kashag not exceeding seven, along with their names and personal descriptions, explaining their eligibility for confirmation in accordance with the provisions of Article 21 of this Charter. No question arises if the candidates are confirmed as Kalons by unanimous approval of the parliament. However, in the absence of unanimous approval, secret ballot must be held by the members present in the house with regard to each candidate and a candidate who wins atleast 50 percent of the votes shall be declared as an elected Kalon. The Sikyong shall then appoint such candidates who have been approved unanimously or by not less than 50% votes by the Tibetan Parliament as Kalon. If all or any of the candidates proposed by the Sikyong fail to win at least 50% votes, the Sikyong shall present a fresh list of candidates to the Tibetan parliament in accordance with the above procedure.”
Under this provision, the following candidates were elected as members of the 17th Kashag: Tsegyal Chukya Dranyi, Kashag Secretary; Palden Dhondup, Secretary of the Department of Home; Tsering Dhondup Gyangser, Secretary of the Department of Finance; Ugyen Tenzin, former Tibetan Parliamentarian and former Dharamshala Bureau Chief of the Voice of America (VOA) Tibetan Service; Kunga Tashi, Tibetan Liaison Officer at the Office of Tibet in Washington, D.C., and former CTA Secretary; and Pema Tso, Tibetan Parliamentarian and Editor-in-Chief of Tibet Times.
