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                Debates for Tibetan Parliament in Exile Kick Off

   by VOA News

   Debates leading up to March 20 elections for the 16th Tibetan
   Parliament-in-exile kicked off Tuesday in Dharamsala, India.

   The election of a prime minister and all 44 members of parliament
   represents a historic milestone for an estimated 128,000 Tibetans in
   exile, all of whom are eligible to cast votes.

   The debate between incumbent Prime Minister Dr. Lobsang Sangay and
   Penpa Tsering, speaker of Tibetan parliament-in-exile, comes just days
   after Dicki Chhoyang, minister of the Department of Information and
   International Relations, abruptly resigned the cabinet post she'd held
   since 2011.

   While Chhoyang did not provide details about her decision to step down,
   her resignation spurred speculation that she might support Tsering, the
   sole opponent of Sangay, whose administration she had served for five
   years.

   A lifelong Tibetan activist, Chhoyang was among seven ministers
   comprising the first democratically-elected Tibetan cabinet after the
   Dalai Lama forfeited his political powers.

   "With a sad heart, I resigned today as Kalon [Minister] for the
   Department of Information and International Relations (DIIR) for the
   Central Tibetan Administration," she said in a statement issued to
   numerous news organizations. "My decision was made with careful
   deliberation, bearing in mind our collective interest and the
   significant challenged that lie ahead."

   On Sunday, Prime Minister Sangay responded to her departure, saying
   only that Chhoyang resigned to participate in public debates of the
   ongoing Tibetan general election, in which government ministers aren't
   allowed to participate.

   According to Reuters, Tsering chose not to comment on her resignation,
   allowing only that he didn't want to "fish in trouble waters."

   "One can always imagine why a minister, just a few months before
   completing her term, resigns," said Tsering. "There are obviously other
   reasons ... so let her speak. I don't want to bring this politics in
   our campaign. It is for the public to judge."

   Upcoming polls will decide who leads the unicameral body, the highest
   legislative organ of the Central Tibetan administration, which is based
   in Dharamsala.

   According to [1]electoral rules, ten parliamentarians are elected from
   each of Tibet's three traditional provinces -- U-Tsang, Do-tod and
   Do-med -- "while the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism and the
   traditional Bon faith elect two members each."

   Four members are elected by Tibetans in the west: two from Europe, one
   from North America and one from Canada.

   Tibet's Parliament-in-exile is headed by a Speaker and Deputy Speaker,
   both of whom are elected by sitting parliamentarians.

   China has ruled Tibet with an iron fist since Communist troops took
   over the region in 1950. Beijing regards the Dalai Lama, who fled into
   exile in India in 1959, as a dangerous separatist who wants an
   independent Tibet.

   The Dalai Lama has repeatedly refuted those claims and has advocated
   greater autonomy for Tibet within China through dialogue with Beijing.

   Produced in collaboration with [2]VOA Tibetan Service.
     __________________________________________________________________

   [3]http://www.voanews.com/content/central-tibetan-administration-debate
   -sangay-tsering/3216198.html

References

   1. http://www.catchnews.com/national-news/tibetan-parliament-to-hold-its-preliminary-elections-from-tomorrow-tibetan-exile-china-oppression-immolations-1445077144.html
   2. http://www.voatibetanenglish.com/
   3. http://www.voanews.com/content/central-tibetan-administration-debate-sangay-tsering/3216198.html