Polling Starts In Bhutan For 2nd National Elections: Report

New Delhi, July 14, IRNA – Polling began in Bhutan for its second national elections with the countryˈs two major political parties facing off in the polls. Brisk polling was witnessed with a large number of people coming out to exercise their franchise that will decide the fate of 94 candidates in 47 constituencies contested by two major parties, ruling Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) and opposition Peopleˈs Democratic Party (PDP). ˈWe are all ready. It is a free and fair election. We expect the polling will be peaceful,ˈ Bhutan Chief Election Commissioner Kunzang Wangdi said in Thimpu, capital of Bhutan, pti reported. The polls will be contested by Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT), which is the ruling party in Bhutan and the Peopleˈs Democratic Party (PDP), the major opposition. In the last election the opposition could win only two out of the 47 seats up for grabs. In the first stage of the polls on May 31, two parties, the Druk Nymrub Tshogpa (DNT) and Druck Chirwang Tshogpa (DCT), lost out leaving the DPT and PDP to contest the final stage of the polls tomorrow. Bhutan has a tri-cameral parliament of the King, National Council and the National Assembly. There are 25 seats in the National Council or the Upper House. Five of them are appointed by the King and 20 elected from 20 districts. National Assembly or lower house consists of 47 members elected from 47 constituencies. Representatives to both houses were elected first in 2008. Wangdi said his country is grateful to India for its help to conduct the free and fair polls successfully by providing logistical support, including gifting nearly 2,000 Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). Wangdi said his men and materials are in place in all polling stations, including remote ones. The voting will start at 9 am (local time), end at 5 pm (local time) and the counting will begin immediately after completion of polling, he said. ˈThe polling centres will become counting centres when the voting ends. We expect all results to be out by 9 pm tomorrow,ˈ Wangdi said. The fate of 94 candidates in 47 constituencies will be decided by 3,81,790 registered voters, including 187,917 female voters. In addition, there are 48,000 postal voters. Highest number of voters are in Satse, 41,769, followed by Trashigang, 41,510. Capital Thimphu has 12,453 voters. Lowest number of voters are in Gasa, 1,842 voters. About 10,000 officers, including security personnel, have been deployed for election duty. There are 850 polling stations, including 215 temporary polling stations. India has provided 1,935 electronic voting machines to Bhutan for the elections. The Bhutan Election Commission is honoured to have Indiaˈs Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath to oversee the election process in the Himalayan nation. India is the only country whose CEC has been invited to oversee the Bhutan elections. Meanwhile, inclement weather and sealing of the international border with India are proving to be a hindrance for people of Bhutanˈs eastern most district. As many voters will be forced to travel through Assam with landslides blocking local roads. Citizens in Samdrup Jongkhar district who have names in the voter lists of other districts of the Himalayan nation, will have to take a diversion through Assam when they go to cast their votes. Due to incessant rains in eastern Bhutan, many roads got blocked following landslides while the sealing of the border affects people heading to their respective constituencies to vote and so the Bhutan Election Commission has ordered authorities to clear all internal roads for travel. In 2008, Bhutan made the transition from absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy and held its first general election. Bhutan officially the Kingdom of Bhutan is a landlocked state in South Asia located at the eastern end of the Himalayas. It is bordered to the north by China and to the south, east and west by the Republic of India. Further west, it is separated from Nepal by the Indian state of Sikkim, while further south it is separated from Bangladesh by the Indian states of Assam and West Bengal. Bhutan’s capital and largest city is Thimphu. The estimated population of the country is about 7,00,000 with the growth rate of about 3.1 per cent per year. The country is still predominantly rural and about 85 per cent of the people live in villages. More than 90 per cent of population in Bhutan follows Buddhism as there only religion./end