20 MAR2016
Tens of thousands of exiled Tibetans around the world voted on Sunday to elect a new prime minister and parliament for the second time.. The Dalai Lama resigned from his role as head of state in 2011 to focus on his position as spiritual leader.
Photo: AP Photo/Tsering Topgyal / AP in Spanish
An exiled Tibetan monk marks his choice on a ballot before placing it in a ballot box in the exiled Tibetan Prime Minister and Parliament elections in Dharamsala, India, on sunday 20 March 2016.
In a festive atmosphere, Buddhist monks in crimson robes waited to vote with hundreds of Tibetan men and women in schools, official buildings or in the courtyard of the Tsuglakhang temple, in Dharamsala, north of India, where the government in exile is based.
Prime Minister Lobsang Sangay is running for re-election and his rival is the Speaker of Parliament, Penpa Tsering. Ambos mantienen su apoyo a "una vía intermedia" proposed by the Dalai Lama, calling for regional autonomy for Tibet within China. Both voted in the government building.
Some 80.000 Tibetans registered in exile voted in elections throughout the day. Results are expected next month.
Some groups demand independence for Tibet, given the limited progress in dialogue with China. But his representatives did not get enough support in the first round of voting last year to run for prime minister..
"Se ha hablado poco sobre el futuro de Tíbet", said Buchung D.. Sonam, a tibetan writer. "Por ejemplo, cómo los dos candidatos abordarían la cuestión de Tíbet en términos de hablar con China".
China does not recognize the Tibetan government in exile. Beijing has not held any talks with the Dalai Lama's representatives since 2010.
At least 114 monks and laymen have set themselves on fire —and most died— in protest of Chinese rule over their homeland for the past five years, according to Tibetan authorities in exile.
Beijing blames Dalai Lama and others for inciting immolations, and claims to have made large investments to develop the Tibetan economy and improve the quality of life in the region.
The Dalai Lama has lived in exile in Dharmsala since fleeing Tibet following a failed uprising against the Chinese government in 1959.
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