Dharamsala: 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 Ms. Tenzin Choezin from U-Tsang province replacing Parliamentarian Mr. Dhondup Tashi earlier today.

Following the resignation of former Parliamentarian Dhondup Tashi from the 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile (TPiE) on January 20, 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, standing committee members of the 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile and Parliamentary Secretariat staff members, 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 Speaker, in his keynote address, congratulated and greeted the newly sworn-in Parliamentarian on behalf of the Parliament. With her experience in varied fields, the Speaker said he is hopeful that the MP’s contribution to the Parliament would certainly prove to be beneficial in the coming five years of working together. The Speaker then stressed on bringing the collective effort of all the Parliamentarians for the common cause of Tibet and prayed for the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, fulfillment of all His wishes, and swift resolution of Tibet’s issue.

The ceremony concluded with the presentation of Tibetan traditional scarves to congratulate the new MP by the Standing Committee members. Parliamentarian Choezin then sought guidance from the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker at the Speaker’s chamber where she was also handed over the official documents and publications.

Brief Bio:

MS. TENZIN CHOEZIN was born on 27^th July 1992 at Dharamsala, India. She completed her school education from Upper TCV, Dharamsala, and TCV Gopalpur. She has done her B. A in English Literature from Madras Christian College, Chennai, followed by her M.A in English Literature from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi.

She has worked as Project Officer at the Central Women’s Association from 2016 to 2017. From 2017 to 2020, she has worked as the Head Consultant at Tibetan Career Center, a unit of Youth Empowerment Support under the Department of Home, CTA. With great zeal and determination to serve the Tibetan community, she has traveled to many Tibetan settlements organizing workshops and talks on youth empowerment, career awareness, and gender equality. Ms. Choezin is currently working as the Executive Director of Active Nonviolence Education Center (ANEC).