2021 Central Tibetan Administration general election

The Central Tibetan Administration, a government-in-exile of Tibet based in India, held an election for its next leader, the Sikyong, in 2021. Candidate Penpa Tsering won the election and succeeded Dr. Lobsang Sangay, who has served for two consecutive terms as Sikyong.

Sikyong Candidates
The first Tibetans to publicly announce their proposed candidacy for position of Sikyong were former minister Dolma Gyari; former minister, representative of Dalai Lama in the America and acting president of the Tibet Fund Lobsang Nyandak; and member of parliament Acharya Yeshi Phuntsok.

Kelsang Dorjee Aukatsang, Tashi Wangdu, and Penpa Tsering then announced their candidacy for the election of Sikyong on September 2, 2020. Ngodup Dongchung announced his candidacy on September 9, and Tashi Topgyal on September 10.

Smartvote Tibet
Throughout 2020, a civil society initiative called Smartvote Tibet invited Tibetans to submit questions for Sikyong and MP candidates in order to build an informed electorate. Smartvote Tibet is an initiative formed by a group of Tibetans who have a background in political science, history, psychology, technology and human rights law. Once the public submit questions on a wide range of current issues, the candidates answer them. Then, voters can answer the same set of questions after which they receive a list of candidates that best match their preferences.

The project Smartvote Tibet was covered by Tibetan media outlets such as Radio Free Asia, Voice of Tibet and Phayul. In a piece profiling younger candidates, Indian media outlet Mint mentioned smartvote. An article about the advantages and challenges of smartvote Tibet was written by team member Sonam Palmo Brunner and published by Global Voices.

The platform is an adapted version of Smartvote, which was first developed in 2003 by Politools in Switzerland. The tool has been successfully implemented for regional and national elections in Switzerland, Australia, Luxembourg, Austria, Scotland as well as in the European Union.

Dates
The primary election of Sikyong and MPs is announced for January 3, 2021, with the results set to finalize by February 8. Hundreds of voters, most wearing facemasks, using hand sanitzer, and maintaining social distancing, voted in Dharamshala, India.

Following the initial primary, the two Sikyong candidates receiving the highest vote share move on the second round. The date for the second round is set for March 20.