Tibetans living in exile in around 30 countries voted Sunday for their new political leader, with the outcome of the election expected to be announced as early as May.
For the position of president of the Central Tibetan Administration, the government-in-exile based in Dharamsala, India, Penpa Tsering, 57, the former speaker of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile, is running against Kelsang Dorjee Aukatsang, 52, a former senior staff of a non-profit organization established by the government-in-exile.
The current president Lobsang Sangay, 53, cannot stand this time because he has served for two consecutive terms, according to the administration.
There are a total of 82,969 registered voters around the world, according to the election commission.
The Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, stepped down as political head of the Tibetan government-in exile in 2011.
Sangay, who has been serving as president since 2011, has maintained the moderate approach of seeking a high-level of autonomy for Tibetans in Tibet rather than independence from China.
Both Tsering and Aukatsang have similar views as him and so the policies of the Tibetan government-in-exile toward China are unlikely to go through major changes under either candidate.
A Tibetan woman who voted in New Delhi told Kyodo News, "I expect the new leader should work for the equality of Tibetan people in the society and should carry forward the Dalai Lama's thinking."
Tenzin Zondru, a 38-year-old Tibetan man, who also cast his ballot in the Indian capital, said the new president "should keep Tibetans united in a democracy."
The Dalai Lama fled China to India following a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959.
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