Tibetan Parliament in Exile To See First Ever Opposition Party

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Tenzin Rabgyal is a man with a democratic plan. The 31-year-old MA student of public administration, and volunteer campaigner for Lobsang Sangey's Kalon Tripa campaign, aims to found a new political party - the People's Party of Tibet (PPT) - in an attempt to create a two-party system in the arena of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA).
Rabgyal hopes to help pave the way for a "smooth democracy" with transparent governance, an absence of nepotism and, most importantly, a raised awareness about democracy among all Tibetans.
With its own candidates, the new party will stand in opposition to what is currently the only parliamentary political party in the Tibetan exile community - the almost two-decades-old National Democratic Party of Tibet (NDPT).
The differences between the two parties are significant. The PPT proposes that its party committee names the members of the Kashag (Tibetan cabinet), as opposed to the current system whereby the Kalon Tripa (prime minister) selects the ministers, who are then approved by parliament.
Also in contrast to the status quo, the Chithue (parliamentary) members of the PPT would be expected to vote uniformly, on the basis of the party's manifesto. Further, while no political party has previously contested elections for Local Settlement Assembly members, the PPT proposes to campaign for both Local Settlement Assembly members and Local Settlement Welfare officers to be elected. The PPT hopes this will make the concept of democracy an integral part of Tibetans' everyday lives.
From the outset, says Rabgyal, the PPT will be a centre-field party that will take "the best from the left wing and the right-wing." But one policy will be set in stone - the PPT will take a pro-autonomy stance. This is in accordance with the policies laid out by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the CTA regarding Tibet's relationship with China. The NDPT, on the other hand, advocates for an independent Tibet, as does the lesser known, US-based, National Rangzen Party of Tibet, which was started by political activist and writer Jamyang Norbu, but is so far only to be found as an interest group on the social media site Facebook.
According to the PPT's first-draft program, the party's main objectives are transparency of governance, educating Tibetans on democracy and its principles, and the preservation of Tibetan culture and traditions. The PPT's tentative manifesto also includes policies on welfare, education, health care and international relations. The program states, however, that "changes may be brought to the policies or programs after the set-up of a central party office and the formation of a party committee in the near future".
So far, this is all the vision of one man. However, later this year Rabgyal intends to canvass Tibetan settlements across India to find members and candidates for the PPT. Besides supporting the party's program, Rabgyal expects candidates to be hard-working, compassionate university graduates, and ideally to belong to the younger cohort of the Tibetan population in exile. With time, he also hopes to attract members and candidates from Tibetan settlements outside of India, and perhaps even establish party offices in places such as the US, Canada and Europe.

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