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Bhutan set for first-ever polls

Special Correspondent

A step towards putting in place a democratic constitutional monarchy

IN THE FRAY: Election posters in Bhutan on Sunday. - PHOTO: RITU RAJ KONWAR

Bhutan is set for its first-ever parliamentary elections on Monday when an electorate of more than 3.18 lakh persons [women outnumber men by 3,873] will be electing 47 members to the National Assembly in a two-party contest.

The polls are the final step towards putting in place a democratic constitutional monarchy a year after the Himalayan kingdom completed 100 years of monarchy. The royal family and religious leaders will not be exercising their franchise as they are to remain above politics.

The fourth King, Jigme Singye Wangchuk, initiated the democratic process more than 25 years ago with the phased devolution of powers from the centre to the district and block levels and subsequently [in 1998] from the throne to elected Cabinet Ministers. It was on December 31, 2005 that he commanded the holding of the first parliamentary elections through a royal decree. He abdicated the throne in December 2006.

The two parties in the fray are Druk Phuensum Tshogpa and the People’s Democratic Party which, between themselves, have put up 10 women candidates out of 94.

“Though both the parties have a similar political agenda there are small differences between them as they strive towards maximising the Gross National Happiness [GNH] policy,” spokesperson for the Election Commission of Bhutan, Sonam Palden, told The Hindu over telephone from Thimphu on Sunday.

Conceived by the then King in the earlier 1970s, the GNH policy is premised on the contention that happiness is a societal goal. “Its pillars are socio-economic development, environmental upkeep, cultural preservation and good governance and it is the guiding policy in Plan documents,” said Ms. Palden.

The enthusiasm among the voters has been in evidence over the past weeks and the election authorities expect that the voters’ turn-out in Monday’s polls will be substantially higher than the average of 50 per cent recorded in the two rounds of “mock elections” held in April and May 2007. Buses belonging to Bhutan’s road transport division have been booked 10 days in advance to take voters to the polling stations even though many of the booths are only accessible by mule track.

Reluctance

“Initially there was some reluctance for change for democracy among a section of the people of Bhutan who have been used to monarchy rule. But now they have come to establish its inevitability,” said Ms. Palden.

Counting begins shortly after polls in the 865 polling stations that start at 9 a.m. and are over at 5 p.m. The results will be compiled the same evening and subsequently sent to the national council centre in Thimphu. They will be officially submitted on March 25 to King Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuk [whose coronation is yet to take place].

Elaborate security arrangements have been made for the elections with the Royal Bhutan Police being assisted by the Royal Bhutan Army in maintaining law and order. The border with India was sealed on Sunday and would remain to be closed to any movement till a day after the polls.

India has extended considerable assistance to the Election Commission of Bhutan by providing it with electronic voters machines. The election officials have also gained first-hand information on conducting polls by being witness, in batches, to Assembly elections held in the some States of the country over the past year.

AFP, Reuters report:

The PDP is headed by Sangay Ngedup, who is the brother of the former King’s four wives – all sisters. His regal background is seen as a disadvantage by some. But Mr. Ngedup rejects such fears. “I’m a citizen of this country and have equal rights to contest the election,” he told AFP.

On the other side stands Jigmi Thinley, a man who helped put flesh on the King’s concept of gross national happiness. Mr. Thinley’s Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) has pitched itself as a party of ordinary Bhutanese.

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