Druk Chirwang Tshogpa

Selecting competent and right candidates have become a race of sorts with four new political parties aspiring to contest in the 2013 elections. Druk Chirwang Tshogpa said even though identifying candidates is a challenge, they have 30 candidates confirmed.

The party’s spokesperson, Tandin Tshering, said out of the confirmed 30, nine candidates are women. He said they are still looking to fill the vacant constituencies. “Roping in candidates has been very challenging,” he said, “In fact it is difficult for all the parties, even for the ruling government. After the government dissolves you never know if all the candidates will be with the party.”

He also said they have identified two people as the possible party president. “One of them is a woman,” said Tandin Tshering. He said both of them are civil servants and they will be resigning soon.

Tandin Tshering said they will be registering their party with the Election Commission of Bhutan by next month. At the moment, the party has 300 members.

The spokesperson said their manifesto and charter are in advanced draft stage.

Source: BBS

Bhutan local government election conducted

The local government election conducted in the 205 gewogs and 16 dzongkhag thromdes saw a voter turnout of 56 percent or 194,357 voters, according to chief election commissioner of Bhutan, Dasho Kunzang Wangdi.

The result was announced this morning at a press conference, which was broadcast live on the national TV. There were 347,938 registered voters for the local government election. A total of 1,105 local government officials to the post of gups, mangmis, thromde thuemis and gewog tshogpas were elected yesterday. “The government structure under the Constitution is complete with the election of the local government,” said Dasho Kunzang Wangdi.

The chief election commissioner thanked all the people involved in conducting the election. “The local government election was successfully conducted.”

The four tshogpa vacant post in the Class A thromdes in Phuentsholing and Thimphu were also filled yesterday.

Bhutan Local Government Elections

The Local Government Elections see more than ever voters through postal ballots. A total of 58,762 have registered to cast their votes through postal ballots comparing to 17,876 registered in the first democratic general elections in 2008.

The grown number in the Local Government Elections, the postal ballot facility is extended to spouses and direct dependents of civil servants and armed forces.

Majority of the postal ballot user are civil servants (17,417), followed by the spouses of the civil servants and armed forces (14,995), corporate employees (4,808), student and trainees (Students 4,899 and Trainees 1,029). Rests are prisoners (556), private employees including security personale (884). Fifty parliamentarians have registered to use postal ballots.

Another reason for the increase in the postal voters, election was deferred by more than a month.

The increase number of postal voters has escalated the cost for the Election Commission. Each postal vote cost Nu.180 working out to more than Nu. 10 million. Elections officials are urging voters to vote in person.

The last date for the issuing of Postal ballot was 3rd June. The voting closed on June 19. Now, the respective returning officers are receiving their postal ballots. By June 26, all the postal ballots will have to reach the respective geogs.

Source: BBS

Bhutan people gathered for voter photo identity card

A 40-year old man from Paro emerged out of a crowd gathered at the royal academy of performing arts (RAPA) hall, rubbing his eyes that had turned red from being exposed to dust.

He said he had been waiting since April 19 to collect his voter photo identity card.

“They stopped issuing the cards after 5pm, least considerate of those of us, who waited since morning the first day,” he said yesterday. “I’m giving up. There’s no point. I’ve waited until lunch today.”

A young man from Trashigang, working with a corporate firm, claimed to have waited since 7am yesterday, only to find a long queue already formed in front of the door to the hall.

“It took me more than five hours to get my card,” he said seeming rather satisfied, adding there was no point in standing in a queue, when everyone else broke line. “You have to jostle and sharp-elbow those around you.”

In the process, a woman from Trashigang living in Thimphu said that some men were almost bound for fisticuffs.

A woman was taken to hospital, following a stampede in their struggle to get in front of the queue, although medical officials at the emergency ward said she suffered no major injuries and was sent home following a brief examination.

At the Motithang school hall, where another crowd of Thimphu residents had gathered to collect their voter cards, police officials shoved a few people back into the crowd, as they tried to force open the door.

To save people all that hassle, the police their curses and the election commission officials the strain, many in the crowd suggested that commission officials should have provided at least a week to collect the cards.

A civil servant, who left after a brief scan of the crowd, said authorities should not complain of a lukewarm response during elections later, if they made the process towards it so unfavourable.

“What’s the purpose of a voter card in the first place when we have identity cards,” she said. “Isn’t that good enough to identify our eligibility to vote.”

A businessman suggested the authority should have divided the two days into couple of hours for people of different dzongkhags depending on sizes.

“What they’re doing isn’t service to the people but an attempt to show the authorities higher up that they’re doing something,” he said.

His friend, working with an autonomous agency, said that, despite taking two days leave from the office, he was unable to fetch his voter card.

“It’s a wastage of time,” he said.

On the issue of providing more time, commission’s deputy chief electoral registration officer Sonam Tobgyel explained that they had decided on the two-day collection time from the feedback they had garnered following the general elections.

“Give them a few days or a week, they’ll still rush at the last moment,” he said, adding the cards would be distributed to each household in every chiwog.

“They have to go to their villages to vote anyway and their voter cards will be there,” Sonam Tobgyel said. “It’s for these reasons we can’t hold the cards here for more than two days.”

He also said the commission officials spent at least 12 hours a day trying distributing the voter cards to Thimphu residents from other parts of the country.

Sonam Tobgyel agreed that, while the citizen identity card would also do, he said they were mandated by their act to distribute voter cards.

“The voter card contains in detail the polling stations and the constituency of a voter,” he said.

The two-day voter card distribution for 17 dzongkhags ended yesterday, and they will be sent to their respective dzongkhags.

Voter card distribution for three dzongkhags of Punakha, Trongsa and Trashiyangtse has already been completed.

Source: Kuenselonline

Lumang gewog, Trashigang, waited patiently for the election officials

Dressed in their best attire, villagers in Chhengri under Lumang gewog, Trashigang, waited patiently for the election officials to begin the zomdu.

The chiwog’s school dining hall filled with the buzz of people greeting and chatting with each other. Cold wind seeped in from the wall made of mud and bamboo.

A couple of minutes later, the dzongkhag electoral officer started the session, but quickly introduced the chiwog’s lone gup contestant. The gathering, however, already knew the candidate and went on to unanimously nominate him as the gup candidate from their chiwog.

While the chiwog failed to produce any mangmi candidate, the lone tshogpa candidate was also endorsed without a hitch. The candidate was required to produce a signature support from five different households.

The zomdu was short and election team swiftly moved to the next chiwog, Doongmanma. There the process went on for at least three hours.

A male and a female gup aspirant were asked to introduce themselves. Both appeared hesitant and claimed not to know what to say. Both, however, promised to bring in development activities and serve people well.

The people were then asked to vote at the electronic voting machine placed neatly at the side. Some immediately took out their citizenship identity card from their pocket. A few had neatly wrapped it in a plastic. A handful, having forgotten to bring it along, rushed home to pick up the card.

Soon the result was declared and the female candidate was elected to contest from the chiwog. However, the villagers insisted the defeated candidate should contest for the mangmi post.

With another candidate already vying for the mangmi post, another round of voting was held to select a mangmi candidate. The candidate was once again defeated.

The chiwog, facing a dearth of tshogpa contestants, insisted the defeated candidate to stand as tshogpa.

“If we need to develop our chiwog, we need a tshogpa,” said one. Another said he need not do much walking, since the chiwog was now connected with mobile connection. The room filled with murmurs as others agreed to his nomination. It was long before the candidate reluctantly agreed to contest for tshogpa.

The election team, after lunch, moved on to Kharphoog Kurchhilo, where excited villagers promptly nominated a gup, mangmi and four tshogpas, including a woman.

On their way to Wamrong, where they will halt for the night, the election team received a phone call from the Doongmanma tshogpa candidate informing he was tendering a resignation since he didn’t feel comfortable enough to take up the post.

Source: Kuenselonline