Dharamshala, 16th April 2025: In accordance with the Charter of Tibetans in exile, Speaker Khenpo Sonam Tenphel of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile administered the oath of office to the new Parliament member Samten Choedon from U-Tsang province replacing Parliamentarian Dawa Phunkyi earlier today.

Following the appointment of former parliamentarian Dawa Phunkyi to Justice Commissioner of the Tibetan Supreme Justice Commission of the Central Tibetan Administration, in accordance with the Article 57 clause (II), the replacement of the Parliamentarian was made from a reserve waiting list maintained by the Central Tibetan Election Commission for the concerned constituency on the basis of the required minimum number of votes won by the candidates who did not make it to the Parliament during the last general election in 2021 and who had the highest number of votes among those in the existing reserve list.

In the presence of the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker, and standing committee members of the 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, the brief swearing-in ceremony for the Parliamentarian was held at 10: 00 am at the Parliament hall.

The swearing-in ceremony started with the offering of Tibetan traditional scarves to the portrait of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, followed by oath administration, serving of dresil (sweetened rice), and butter tea.

The ceremony concluded with the presentation of Tibetan traditional scarves to congratulate the new MP by the Standing Committee members.

Brief Bio:
Samten Chodon, a resident of Bylakuppe Tibetan Settlement, graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from Teresian College, Mysore, in 1992. She has dedicated over 23 years to serving the Tibetan community in various capacities. From 1993 to 1994, she worked as an Assistant Accountant cum Secretary at the Finance Department, Bylakuppe branch, before serving as an Auditor at the Office of the Auditor General, CTA, from 1995 to 1997. In 1998, she joined Lugsung Samdupling Tibetan Cooperative Society as an accountant, where she was later promoted to Assistant Manager and eventually to the position of Manager.

Actively involved in Tibetan women’s advocacy, she joined the Tibetan Women’s Association (TWA) in 1990 and was elected as an executive member from 2003 to 2006, later serving as its President from 2006 to 2009. In 2008, she worked as the Chief Accountant during the Peace March from Dharamshala to Tibet, organized by five leading Tibetan NGOs. From 2009 to 2015, she served two consecutive terms as Vice President of the Central Tibetan Women’s Association. She was also elected to the 16th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile.