General elections were held in

Sikkim Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Silig ...

in March 1967, having been due earlier but postponed after a state of emergency was declared following the

Sino-Indian War The Sino-Indian War took place between China and India from October to November 1962, as a major flare-up of the Sino-Indian border dispute. There had been a series of violent border skirmishes between the two countries after the 1959 Tibet ...

.Hamlet Bareh (2001) ''Encyclopaedia of North-East India: Sikkim'' Mittal Publications, p17 The

Sikkim National Congress Sikkim National Congress ( SNC) was a political party in the Kingdom of Sikkim. It was founded in 1962, through a merger of Swatantra Dal, Rajya Praja Sammelan, and dissidents of the then dominant parties, Sikkim State Congress and Sikkim N ...

emerged as the largest single party, winning eight of the 24 seats. Although the

Sikkim National Party Sikkim National Party was a political party in the Kingdom of Sikkim, formed in 1950. The Sikkim National Party was in favour of the monarchy and advocated independence for Sikkim. The party was founded to counter the growing influence of the pro- ...

won only five seats, its parliamentary faction was joined by three others (one each from the Tsong ( Limbu),

Sangha Sangha is a Sanskrit word used in many Indian languages, including Pali meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community"; Sangha is often used as a surname across these languages. It was historically used in a political context t ...

and scheduled caste reserved seats).

Electoral system

The

State Council State Council may refer to: Government * State Council of the Republic of Korea, the national cabinet of South Korea, headed by the President * State Council of the People's Republic of China, the national cabinet and chief administrative auth ...

was established in 1953 by the Chogyal.Bareh, p16 It originally had 18 members, of which 12 were elected and six (including the President) appointed by the Chogyal. Of the 12 elected members, six were for the Nepali community and six for the

Bhutia-Lepcha Bhuta-Lepcha is an ethnic grouping consisting of people of the Bhutia and Lepcha communities in Sikkim, India. Both these groups are listed as Scheduled Tribes by the Government of India. After the implementation of the recommendations of the ...

community. For the 1958 elections the number of seats was increased to 20 by adding one seat for the

and an additional appointed member. In 1966, a further four seats had been added; one each for the Nepali and Lepcha/Bhutia communities, together with one for the Tsong ( Limbu) and a scheduled caste seat. Candidates for election to the Council had to be at least 30 years old, whilst the voting age was set at 21.

Results

Constituency-wise

Appointed members

In addition to the elected members, six members were appointed to the Sikkim State Council by the Chogyal, which included R. N. Haldipur (Dewan of Sikkim and President of the Council), M. M. Rasailly, Hon. Lt. P. B. Basnet, Sonam Wangyal, I. B. Gurung, and Sangey Tempo.

Executive Council

From the elected members, the following were appointed as members of the Executive Council, by the Chogyal:

References

{{Sikkimese elections Elections in Sikkim

1960s in Sikkim Election and referendum articles with incomplete results March 1967 events in Asia