Tibetians across world vote to elect new PM

Thousands of Tibetans across the world voted on Sunday to elect the Prime Minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile. The exercise may usher in a transition in the community's leadership following the Dalai Lama's refusal to reconsider his decision to retire as its political head.Chief Election Commissioner Jamphel Choesang said, the results will be announced on the 27th of next month. The three candidates - Lobsang Sangay, Tenzin Namgyal Tethong and Tashi Wangdi are in the fray for the post.

The current prime minister-in-exile Samdhong Rinpoche has already served two terms and the Tibetan charter bars an individual from holding the office for more than that period.The five-year tenure of the Prime Minister will be significant as it could mark a transition from one-man leadership of the Dalai lama to a democratically elected government of exiled Tibetans.The Dalai Lama, a Nobel peace prize winner, has been both the spiritual and the political head of the Tibetan government-in-exile which he had founded after fleeing to India in 1959 following a failed uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet . But he had on March 10 announced his decision to step down as political head of Tibetan government-in-exile.