By Tenzin Chokyi

DHARAMSALA, 2 Sept: The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) on Wednesday marked the 66th anniversary of Tibetan democracy in exile, commemorating the establishment of the Tibetan People’s Deputies — the precursor to today’s Tibetan Parliament in Exile — on 2 September 1960 under the leadership of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.

The anniversary celebrates the evolution of a democratic system that has seen successive institutional reforms, including the adoption of the Charter of Tibetans-in-Exile in 1991, the direct election of the head of the Tibetan administration in 2001, and the Dalai Lama’s devolution of his political authority to elected Tibetan leaders in 2011.

In their respective anniversary statements, the Kashag (Cabinet) and the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile expressed gratitude to the Dalai Lama for introducing democracy and called on Tibetans to protect the system t...