Bhutanese general election, 2008

Infobox Election
election_name = Bhutanese general election, 2008
country = Bhutan
type = parliamentary
ongoing = no
previous_election =
previous_year =
next_election =
next_year =
seats_for_election = All 47 seats to the National Assembly
election_date = March 24, 2008


leader1 = Jigme Thinley
party1 = Bhutan Peace and Prosperity Party
leaders_seat1 = Nanong-Shumar
seats1 = 45
popular_vote1 = 169,490
percentage1 = 67.04%


leader2 = Sangay Ngedup
party2 = People's Democratic Party (Bhutan)
leaders_seat2 = Kabji-Talo
seats2 = 2
popular_vote2 = 83,322
percentage2 = 32.96%

map_

---

map_size = 350px
map_caption = Results of the Bhutanese Elections.

title = PM
before_election = Kinzang Dorji
before_party = None
after_election = Jigme Thinley
after_party = Bhutan Peace and Prosperity Party

Bhutan held its first general election on March 24, 2008 [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7193818.stm BBC NEWS | South Asia | Main Bhutan election date is set ] ] for the National Assembly. Two parties were registered by the Election Commission of Bhutan to contest the election: the Bhutan Peace and Prosperity Party (DPT, for "Druk Phuensum Tshogpa"), which was formed by the merger of the previously established Bhutan People's United Party and All People's Party [ [http://www.bhutan.gov.bt/government/newsDetail.php?id=320 Bhutan Portal ] ] and is led by Jigme Y. Thinley, and the People's Democratic Party (PDP). The third political party, the Bhutan National Party (BNP), [ [http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/003200705061012.htm Bhutan gets third political party] , "The Hindu", 6 May 2007] [ [http://www.bbs.com.bt/All%20people's%20party.html Fourth party to be called All People's Party] Bhutan Broadcasting Service, 5 June 2007] had its application for the registration cancelled.

Electoral system

The elections for the 47 seats of the National Assembly were planned to be held in two rounds: In the first round, voters would have voted for a party. The two parties with the largest share of the national vote would then have been able to field candidates in the 47 constituencies. [ [http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=0fc17dd6-a4cd-4ccc-9dd4-e0fc571d7c02&&Headline=Caretaker+PM+appointed+in+Bhutan Caretaker PM] ] However, as only two parties successfully registered for the election, the election was held in one round.

Constituencies

The 47 constituencies of the National Assembly of Bhutan are:

Results

Turnout reached nearly 80% by the time the polls closed, and the Bhutan Peace and Prosperity Party reportedly won 44 seats, with the People's Democratic Party winning only three seats (Phuentsholing in Chhukha, Goenkhatoe-Laya in Gasa and Sombeykha in Haa). The PDP's leader, Sangay Ngedup, who is also the ruling king's uncle, lost his own constituency by 380 votes. Reportedly, there were few differences between the platforms of the two parties, which might explain the unexpectedly uneven results; analysts are worried that the small representation of the opposition may obstruct the functioning of the newly founded democratic system. Both parties had pledged to follow the king's guidelines of "pursuing Gross National Happiness", and both party leaders had previously served in governments. [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/25/world/asia/25bhutan.html Heavy Turnout in First Bhutan Election - New York Times ] ]

Another attempt to explain the BPPP's large-scale victory is that it is apparently the more royalist of the two parties. [ [http://www.nzz.ch/nachrichten/international/erdrutschsieg_der_royalisten_bei_den_wahlen_in_bhutan_1.694585.html Erdrutschsieg der Royalisten in Bhutan (International, NZZ Online) ] ]

Due to a mistake in tallying the votes in Phuntsholing, [http://www.election-bhutan.org.bt/Docs/phuntsholing.pdf] it turned out that actually, the BPPP had won 45 seats and the PDP only 2. [ [http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSDEL16203420080327 CORRECTED: Bhutan corrects poll results, opposition shrinks | International | Reuters ] ]

The two PDP members who were elected have refused to take up their seats and resigned their mandates, claiming that the civil servants informally campaigned for the DPT and thus greatly influenced the result. [ [http://in.reuters.com/article/topNews/idINIndia-32738320080328 Bhutan loses opposition as MPs cry foul over poll | Top News | Reuters ] ] [ [http://www.kuenselonline.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=10108 Kuensel Newspaper - PDP asks ECB to investigate “very strange developments” before elections ] ]

The DPT officially approved its leader as candidate for PM on 5 April 2008. [ [http://www.kuenselonline.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=10149 Kuensel Newspaper - DPT endorses Jigmi Y Thinley as Prime Minister ] ] He took office on 9 April. [ [http://www.hindu.com/2008/04/11/stories/2008041154161800.htm "Thinley takes over as Premier"] , "The Hindu", April 11, 2008.]

Mock elections

On April 21, 2007, a mock election was held to prepare the population of Bhutan for the imminent change to democracy. These elections were held in all 47 National Assembly of Bhutan constituencies and at 869 polling stations with around 1,000 voters at each one of them. [ [http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=28cf6a1b-2ac2-429d-a56e-fbc4564dacf6& Bhutan set for mock elections on April 21] Hindustan Times, 20 April 2007] The parties "contesting" the election were the Druk Blue Party, the Druk Green Party, the Druk Red Party and the Druk Yellow Party (with "Druk" being Bhutanese for "thunder dragon"), each of them representing certain values as their "party manifesto": yellow traditional values, red for industrial development, blue for fairness and accountability, and green for the environment. The two parties winning the most votes were to proceed to a run-off election scheduled for May 28, 2007. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6578421.stm Bhutan holds fake national poll] BBC News, 21 April 2007] Election observers were present from the United Nations and from India. [ [http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21592367-2703,00.html Bhutan's election dummy run] The Australian, 21 April 2007]

The results of the first round were as follows: [http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/4/22/worldupdates/2007-04-22T114127Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_-295140-1&sec=Worldupdates Bhutan votes for tradition and monarchy in mock poll] The Star, 22 April 2007]

The two leading parties, Druk Yellow Party and Druk Red Party, put up randomly chosen high school students as candidates in the 47 constituencies in the second round on May 28, 2007, in an effort to produce a two-party system to avoid the need for coalition governments and possible political instability, something which the Bhutanese tend to fear. The Druk Yellow Party swept the vote and won 46 of the 47 constituencies. Turnout in the second round was 66%. [ [http://www.thestar.com/News/article/219222 Bhutan mock poll votes for tradition] The Star, 30 May 2007]

283,506 people had registered to vote, though it is considered likely that a total of 400,000 would have been eligible to register as voters. [ [http://www.indiaenews.com/asia/20070528/53749.htm Encouraging turnout in Bhutan's historic mock polls] India eNews, 28 May 2007]

Election schedule

The election procedure began with the submission of the letters of intent, lists of candidates, copies of election manifestos and audited financial statements by the two political parties contesting the elections to the election commission followed by the release of the party manifestos by them on January 22, 2008. [http://www.kuenselonline.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=9739 March is on to Assembly Elections] ] From January 31, 2008 to February 7, 2008 both political parties submitted the nomination papers for their candidates for the 47 constituencies. The candidates, whose nominations were accepted, started campaigning in their constituencies from February 7, 2008. The election campaign will end at 9:00 on March 22, 2008. The last date for receiving the postal ballots was February 18, 2008. The elections were held on March 24, 2008 from 09:00 to 17:00 followed by the counting of ballots on the same day. The results were declared on March 25, 2008.

All eligible voters were allowed to register with the election commission till February 20, 2008 for inclusion of their names in the voters list which was updated to include those eligible voters who turned eighteen years on January 1, 2008. The final electoral roll was published on March 5, 2008.

References

External links

* [http://www.bhutanobserver.bt/2008/bhutan-news/03/dpt-wins-by-landslide-national-assembly-election-results.html Election results]