More than 70% cast vote in Bhutan parliament polls

A Bhutanese woman shows her voter ID card while standing in a queue along with others to cast her vote at Bangtsho polling station in Deothang constituency, Samdrupjongkhar district, Bhutan yesterday.

DPA/ThimphuTens of thousands of people in Bhutan voted yesterday in the second-ever parliamentary elections, which are being seen as a verdict on five years of democracy in the tiny Himalayan nation. Three of five political parties were eliminated in an earlier round of polling in May, leaving the incumbent Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) and the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to contest elections for the 47-member National Assembly. The Buddhist nation held its first general elections in March 2008, marking the end of a century-old absolute monarchy. King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck initiated the transformation to a parliamentary democracy and remains constitutional head of the state. Both parties are loyal to the monarch and consult him on important issues. Bhutan has an electorate of 400,000 and 850 polling stations - some expecting less than a dozen voters - were set up even in the remotest regions. An election commission spokesman said shortly after polls closed that he expected turnout to be about 70-80%. Vote counting is already underway and the results were likely to be announced today. The new government will have to face a host of challenges, including huge economic debt and recently soured relations with India after New Delhi cut subsidies for the gas it provides Bhutan. The growing economic and development gaps posed major problems, said Lily Wangchhuk, president of Druk Chirwang Tshogpa, one of the parties that lost in the earlier round of polling. Businessman Sangay Dorji said: “We want change but have not seen much of it under the last government.” Wangchhuk also felt the country was not fully prepared for democracy. “People know how to use the voting machine but there is a lack of understanding of the democratic process, which would enable them to make informed choices.” Farmer Ap Dau, 58, a voter at Wangsisina village, 20kms south of the capital Thimphu, said he felt privileged to be able to vote and it did not really matter to him who wins. “We did not feel a change in the past five years, no one has ever done anything for us. Whatever came to me in life I have done with my own hands,” said Ap Dau, clad in a traditional Bhutanese costume and a faded baseball cap. First-time voter Yeshi Choden, 18, said that it is a good thing that politics has been brought down to the grassroots level. “As the politicians now need the vote of the people they bring positive changes to the country,” she said, listing power stations and education as priorities. Roads and education are among the major concerns of voters, many of who had to walk 5km and more across hilly terrain to cast their ballot. Ap Dau hopes the new government will build a good road to his village so that the children do not have to walk several hours to get to school. “In winter it is impossible,” he said. Thsering (one name only), 20, an official at the National Environment Commission in Thimphu, said it made little difference to her whether Bhutan was a democracy or monarchy. “Both types are the same for me, both make us happy.” Bhutan follows a unique system of measuring growth not in gross domestic product, but gross national happiness - taking into account factors such as living standards, psychological wellbeing and good governance. Fiercely protective about its culture and environment, the tiny nation, landlocked between India and China, did not have television till 1999. Ap Dau wants the new government to provide a television connection to his village: “So that we can watch the news ourselves and be well-informed.”