Tibetans accuse China of sabotaging elections

New Delhi: The Tibetan community has accused China of trying to sabotage elections to the Tibetan government in exile and Tibetan Parliament held earlier this month, and said the biggest disruption to the process was witnessed in Nepal where the Chinese Communist Party has made inroads over the years.

While the elections held earlier this month went on smoothly in India, Russia and other countries, the Tibetan community claimed that it has evidence that Chinese officials tried to watch the voting process and note the names of those who voted in certain countries. Tibetans in Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Spain also exercised their franchise on January 3.

The biggest disruption to the elections happened in Nepal, after a Chinese high-level delegation visited the Himalayan country on December 27, to resolve the schism between the different factions of the Nepal Communist Party, said people aware of the matter. Several Chinese officials visited Nepal on the occasion through both air and land routes and may have been involved in monitoring elections, they said.


For decades, China has been worried over the presence of the Tibetan community in Nepal over fears that the Himalayan state could be the springboard for anti-China protests.

The Tibetan Administration, led by its President and 45 parliamentarians, was voted to power by about 80,000 voters around the world through a ballot system of elections, in which the preliminary round of polling took place on January 3.