Mach 24th will remain a very special day in Bhutan’s history. On this auspicious day, Bhutan finally transitioned from an absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy. The first general election of the country has been held. Earlier, I wrote a post covering the details about Bhutan’s general election.
Well, the election has finished and the result has been given. The Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) or Bhutan United Party lead by Jigmi Thinley won the election by a landslide. AFP reports:
The world's newest democracy gave a landslide election win on Monday to the Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) or Bhutan United Party, led by ex-premier Jigmi Thinley.
In his first address to the nation after his party emerged the winner, Thinley indicated that his group would continue to seek guidance from the royal family, which was expected to retain strong influence over the government.
"I will endeavor to serve the king, the country and people with the deepest of commitment and loyalty," Thinley said in a statement published in a special evening edition of weekly newspaper Bhutan Observer.
Unlike other country in the world, Bhutan’s king emphasize on Gross National Happiness (GNH). Jigmey Thinley, a US educated elite, was one of the master minds behind this concept. Two times Thinley served as the Prime Minister of Bhutan and as foreign minister.
The main leverage of Thinley’s party was that he was not related to Bhutan’s royal family like his competitor, Sangay Ngedup, who was former King’s brother-in-law. Out of the 47 seats in the National Assembly, DHT won 44 seats.
The biggest challenge for Bhutan was to make the election fair and smooth. Most of Bhutan is rural area with poor transport facilities. Ballot boxes, papers and other election equipments were carried to various polling stations by mules and horses. On March 24th, all over the country, schools, colleges and other private and government organizations were shut down for election.
The total number of voters was 318,000. The most positive thing about this election was that within first two hours, more than one third of the total registered voters appeared to vote. By 5 p.m. when the election ended, 79% of the total registered voters came to cast votes. The international observers who came to observe the election were also very happy with the over all election process.
Still, many people were confused and some were not so happy. “Why we need democracy? The king has been very good to us.” This was their argument. I think Bhutan’s monarchy has done a very good job. Vesting power in people’s hand will further increase Bhutan’s royal families’ popularity. I hope and pray that the newly elected prime minister will devotedly work for the prosperity of the country because this is the only way to achieve people’s faith in democracy.
P.S. - for more information about Bhutan’s election check out the official website of Bhutan’s Election Commission.
Related articles:
Daily Times
Voice of America (1)
Voice of America (2)
AFP (1)
AFP (2)
AP (1)
AP (2)
The New York Times
The Wall Street Journal
The Christian Science Monitor
» Bhutan General Election 2008: Turnout of young Bhutanese male and female was high from SouthAsiaBiz
Bhutan’s first democratic government election will remain significant in many ways in the country’s history. The first election saw more female voters than male voters. Except eleven constituencies, female voters out numbered male voters in... [Read More]
Tracked on: April 20, 2008 10:55 AM | Permalink to Trackback