2001 Central Tibetan Administration general election

General elections for Kalon Tripa (Prime Minister) of the Central Tibetan Administration (the Tibetan government in exile) and members of the organization's Parliament were held on July 29, 2001 and were the first time the office of Prime Minister was up to democratic election for the Tibetans, as it was traditionally appointed by the Dalai Lama under the Parliament's ratification. The election of Kalon Tripa was part of a series of reforms encouraged by the Dalai Lama for the democratization of the exile Tibetan community.[1] Lobsang Tenzin, the 5th Samdhong Rinpoche won the election with more than 80% of the votes.[2]

2001 Central Tibetan Administration general election

29 July 2001

Candidate Lobsang Tenzin Juchen Thubten Namgyal Party Independent Independent Popular vote 29, 000 Percentage 84.54% 12%

Kalon Tripa before election Sonam Topgyal Independent Elected Kalon Tripa Lobsang Tenzin Independent

As is traditional in this process, preliminary or sometimes called primary elections were held months before, on May 12, 2001 with the following results:

Candidate	Position	Votes	%
Lobsang Tenzin	5th Samdhong Rinpoche	31, 444	82.75
Juchen Thubten Namgyal	Kalon	3, 732	9.82
Gyalo Thondup	Former Kalon Tripa, Dalai Lama's brother	2, 304	6.06
Gyari Lodoe Gyaltsen		330	0.86
Tenzin Tethong	Former Kalon Tripa	104	0.27
Sakya Trizin	Leader of the Sakya School	84	0.22
Invalid/blank votes		35,882	-
Source:TCA[3]

References

1. von Welck, Hubertus (2003). Exile as Challenge: The Tibetan Diaspora. ISBN 9788125025559. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
2. "Samdhong Rinpoche is the new Kalon Tripa". Central Tibetan Administration. August 20, 2001. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
3. "Result of the preliminary round of Kalon Tripa election". Central Tibetan Administration. May 29, 2001. Archived from the original on 23 March 2016. Retrieved 16 March 2016.