The chief election commissioner of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA)-in-exile has declared Penpa Tsering as the speaker and Khenpo Sonam Tenphel as the deputy speaker of the 15th Tibetan Parliament-in-exile.
When contacted, the Tibetan Parliamentarian secretariat spokesperson-in-exile Tenzin Norbu told that Penpa Tsering was elected as the speaker with 22 votes during a secret voting among the members of the Parliament conducted by the Election Commission on Monday.
He told that Lopon Khenpo Sonam Tenphel, a member of Parliament from Nyingma School of Buddhism, was elected as the deputy speaker with 20 votes.
Penpa Tsering was the speaker during the second half the 14th Tibetan Parliament's tenure.
Meanwhile, according to an official information, the newly speaker and deputy speaker will be administered the oath of secrecy by the chief justice commissioner tomorrow.
It is believed that with the election of Penpa Tsering as the speaker, it is now crystal clear that the 15th Tibetan parliament-in-exile will not see two speakers, as had happened in the 14th parliament that completed its term on Saturday.
It may be mentioned here that in the 14th prliament, the five-year term was divided between Karma Choephel and Penpa Tsering who were tied in several rounds of voting done on May 30, 2006.
According to information, Penpa Tsering, the then speaker in the 14th Tibetan parliament-in-exile has retained his post as the Speaker of the 15th Tibetan parliament in exile after two rounds of voting. The preliminary voting resulted in a tie between Penpa Tsering and Karma Yeshi with 19 votes each and 4 for Pema Jungney.
{{/usCountry}}According to information, Penpa Tsering, the then speaker in the 14th Tibetan parliament-in-exile has retained his post as the Speaker of the 15th Tibetan parliament in exile after two rounds of voting. The preliminary voting resulted in a tie between Penpa Tsering and Karma Yeshi with 19 votes each and 4 for Pema Jungney.
{{/usCountry}}Finally, 22 MPs polled for Penpa Tsering and 19 MPs for Karma Yeshi. One vote was declared invalid by the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) for neutrality.
Speaker elect Penpa Tsering has also served as the executive director of the Delhi-based Tibetan Parliamentary and Policy Research Centre (TPPRC) before being sworn in as the speaker of the 14th parliament in 2008.
The preliminary voting for deputy speaker put top three nominees as Karma Yeshi, Khenpo Sonam Tenphel and Pema Jungney.
But, the final voting resulted in Khenpo Sonam Tenphel winning the post of the deputy speaker of the 15th Tibetan Parliament-in-exile with 20 votes, Pema Jungney with 13 votes and Karma Yeshi with 9 votes.