According to the Chinese Constitution, Tibet operates under the ethnic minorities regional autonomy system. Regional autonomy for minority people is a defined concept. In areas where people of a certain ethnic group live in compact communities, relevant organs of self-government are established and the local people enjoy the right of self-government in running their own local affairs under the unified leadership of the State. An autonomous region such as Tibet exercises self-government through a people's congress and a people's government. Major leadership posts in these two provincial-level organs should be occupied by ethnic Tibetans.

In March 1955 the Central Government decided to set up the Preparatory Committee for the Tibet Autonomous Region. In September 1965 the first session of the autonomous region's first People's Congress was held in Lhasa. The founding of the Tibet Autonomous Region was formally declared. With the exception of some upper strata patriots and religious figures, the overwhelming majority of the delegates to the congress were former serfs or slaves.

When the 1993 elections for Tibetan people's congresses at various levels were conducted, there were 1.311 million electors in Tibet, or 98.6 percent of the citizens aged 18 or over; 1.201 million voted (by secret ballot), 91.6 percent of the total electors. Currently, ethnic Tibetans account for 99.92 percent of the town ship-level deputies, 92.6 percent of the county-level deputies and 82.44 percent of the deputies to the Sixth People's Congress of the Tibet Autonomous Region.