By Choekyi Lhamo
DHARAMSHALA, Sept. 3: Former Speaker and North America Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Penpa Tsering announced his Sikyong (Presidential) candidature on Wednesday on his official Facebook page. The candidate charted out his reasons for standing in the 2021 election and gave a detailed account of his manifesto set for the campaign.
He addressed the virtual public by saying, “I want to dedicate my life to serve the Tibetan public. There have been many problems in the past but I will not let that deter my convictions. . . Considering HH the Dalai Lama’s age at such an important juncture, and who also resigned from all political responsibility to give us the platform to exercise our democratic rights, I pledged to take this responsibility in order to strengthen the Tibetan administration.”
Former Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile also shared that his experience while serving the CTA has made him understand the integral complexities needed for such leadership, “I felt that the time has come to utilize my capabilities for such an endeavour.” He also commented on the changing global outlook on China during the COVID-19 crisis and its impact on China’s politics.
He also indirectly remarked on his legal battle against the current Cabinet led by CTA President Lobsang Sangay where he won the case ultimately. “The past issues concerning me are also a part of the democratic discourse. I have always attempted to work towards the unification of different approaches of various organizations and associations within our community. Even in the future, I will do my best to work with different ideologues without any discrimination,” Tsering said.
Former NA representative at the Office of Tibet said that he unequivocally supports the Middle Way Approach which has been the official standpoint of the CTA and promised to prevent any baseless condemnation of the Dalai Lama who has spent his life building this exile Tibetan community. He further urged the other Sikyong candidates, Tibetan public and his supporters to ensure an effective election process in order to strengthen the community.
3 Responses
I am very happy that there are many candidate declare for Sikyong 2021 and ready to take the responsibility. All the candidate declare so far the most suitable is Tsoksur Penpa Tsering la, He has courage, truthful, competent to lead and also have forward looking thinking based on HH the Dalai Lama Vision. He is born in India, educated in India and serve the Tibetan Community in India, She know how to respect the staff of CTA and its branches, He also the Tibetan Community/Buddhist Association abroad and also had experience of Foreign Affairs too. He is most competent/trusted Candidate. Vote for PT.
The message seems to be; if you don’t vote for me, you hate the Dalai Lama. A good strategy from a career politician. Especially since it proved so successful the last time around, why not utilize it again? Emotional blackmail is surely much easier to do than drafting clear policies moving forward.
Let those that have guts to serve should be encouraged. Thanks