Bhutan votes in the country’s third general polls

Voters in the tiny Himalayan nation of Bhutan are casting their ballots in the country’s third general elections to decide which party will lead the young democracy for the next five years.

A total of 438,663 registered voters can choose candidates on Thursday for the 47-member National Assembly, or lower house of parliament, Election Commission secretary Dawa Tenzin said.

Roughly 100,000 people were expected to vote by post.

“There is a lot of interest and enthusiasm among people for the elections across the country’s 20 districts. We expect a good turnout,” commission spokesman Sonam Tobgyal said.

NA General Election 2018: An elderly couple in Dagana walked two long hours to get to their polling station. The woman is 77-year-old and her husband is 80. This is the spirit of Bhutanese voters! pic.twitter.com/dkNTtycMi7

— Bhutan Broadcasting (@BBSBhutan) October 18, 2018

The poll is a runoff between the royalist Druk Phuensum Tshogpa and the centre-left Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa parties.

Reporting from Bhutan, Al Jazeera’s Neave Barker said it is only the third election since the country transitioned to democracy in 2008.

“It has been a very unusual journey because the transition came about as a result of a direct order by the previous monarchs. So, people have embraced democracy enthusiastically, perhaps largely out of respect for the monarchy. That is the bizarre contradiction about politics here in Bhutan,” he said.

#Bhutan: Polling for 47 seats of National Assembly, lower house of parliament underway pic.twitter.com/oLpMM0hZGM

— Doordarshan News (@DDNewsLive) October 18, 2018

The primary round held in September resulted in a surprise defeat for the ruling People’s Democratic Party of Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay.

Economic issues rank high in the campaign manifestos of both parties. Despite impressive growth of 7.5 percent in 2017, Bhutan faces high unemployment and rising external debts.

The Buddhist kingdom held its first general election in March 2008, marking the end of a century-old monarchy.

The hereditary king remains as constitutional head of state but has to retire by age 65 and can be removed by a two-thirds majority of parliament.

Counting will begin immediately after the voting ends at 5pm (1100 GMT) and the results will be formally declared on Friday morning, Tobgyal said.

Bhutan has tried to protect itself from globalisation, striving for Gross National Hapiness over GDP growth, and maintaining a carbon-negative economy. 

“At the centre of all political life in Bhutan is the pursuit of the domestic national happiness. That is how the success of a nation is measured,” Barker said.

SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies