Tibetan Parliament-in-exile elects Speaker Khenpo Sonam Tenphel, Dy speaker Dolma Tsering

The elected members of the 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-exile (TPiE) on Friday, 8 October, took oath from the Interim Speaker Dawa Tsering after four-month hiatus. According to ANI, the 44 members of TPiE elected Khenpo Sonam Tenphel and Dolma Tsering through voting. While speaking to the news agency, Dolma informed about the oath-taking ceremony of the speaker and the deputy speaker, and said that Tenphel took oath as the Speaker and she was appointed as a Deputy speaker. 

the oath-taking ceremony was held at the Tibetan Parliamentary Secretariat. In a statement, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) said that the elected members of the 17th TPiE were sworn in on Friday in accordance with the charter of Tibetan exiles. It added that Sikyong Penpa Tsering of the CTA attended the swearing-in ceremony. It also said that Dolma and Tenphel were appointed by the Tibetan Supreme Justice Commissioner Sonam Norbu Dagpo. 

While speaking at a press conference following the ceremony, Sikyong Penpa Tsering said, “There is no reason to discuss the past disagreements, today all the elected members have successfully secured their seats in the parliament. I want to congratulate all the Chithues (MPs) for this step forward. Now for the next five years, the Kashag (Cabinet) looks forward to working together with the TPiE for the cause of Tibet.”

Next session to appoint cabinet members to take place on Monday

After the oath-taking ceremony, European MP Thupten Wangchen also expressed joy over the development. It is to mention that Wangchen is one of the five MPs from abroad who had initiated the two-day internal meeting that resulted in the current development. Wangchen said that the CTA has “finally succeeded” in conducting its first parliament proceedings with the oath-taking ceremony of all the 45 members. 

Now, according to Tibetan media outlet, Phayul, the next session to appoint the cabinet members under Sikyong Penpa Tsering will take place on Monday. Additionally, the appointment of the 17th standing committee is also set to take place in the coming days. It is worth mentioning that the 17th TPiE has not yet convened two of its mandated ten-session due to the crisis. 

(With inputs from ANI)