UN, Indian observers to oversee Bhutan's mock elections
Apr 19, 2007 - 9:16:30 AM
|
|
|
The transition began in 2001 when the former king handed over the powers of daily government to a council of ministers and empowered the National Assembly to force a royal abdication if three-quarters of its membership backed the motion.
|
By Syed Zarir Hussain, IANS,
[RxPG] Samdrup Jongkhar -, April 19 - Bhutan is all set for the first of the two rounds of mock parliamentary elections Saturday with the United Nations and India deputing observers to monitor the polls.
'Everything is in place from electronic voting machines to poll personnel for the dummy elections. Two teams of Indian Election Commission officials and also from the United Nations would be present as observers,' Dasho Kunzang Wangdi, Bhutan's chief election commissioner, told IANS over the phone from capital Thimphu.
The mock polls to be staged Saturday and May 28 are aimed at familiarising voters and officials about procedures ahead of the first general elections in 2008 when the kingdom shifts from monarchy to parliamentary democracy.
'We hope people would come forward to cast their votes. We have already placed about 10,000 polling officials, including security personnel, for the elections,' Wangdi said.
An estimated 400,000 voters in the Himalayan kingdom of about 600,000 people are eligible to exercise their franchise in 869 polling booths spread over 47 parliamentary constituencies.
'We have already distributed manifestoes for the elections in all the constituencies with four dummy political parties being given respective colours and symbols for the vote,' the commissioner said.
'The two parties which get the highest number of votes Saturday will go on to contest the final round.'
The parties are being named Druk - Blue Party, Druk Green Party, Druk Red Party and Druk Yellow Party.
'Now people would vote for the parties in the primary round of elections Saturday. In the final round of polls May 28, people would vote for candidates of the two top parties that emerge victorious in the first round,' Wangdi said.
The official said candidates for the mock elections May 28 would be students from high schools.
'We shall choose two students for each of the 47 constituencies to represent the two top parties for the final round of vote,' Wangdi said.
Bhutanese voters are, however, circumspect about the elections.
'We don't really know what is going to happen or whether this mock election would serve any purpose,' Pema Tashi, a young tourist guide in Samdrup Jongkhar, told IANS.
This frontier town of Samdrup Jongkhar located in southeast Bhutan is about 110 km from Guwahati, the main city in India's northeastern state of Assam.
An opinion poll conducted by Bhutan's national newspaper Kuensel Thursday said only 44 percent of those who responded in the survey expressed their interest to vote, while a majority 47 percent said they would not exercise their franchise. The remaining respondents in the survey were undecided.
Despite the lukewarm response, Bhutan's Election Commission is making all preparations, including declaring Friday and Saturday as dry days across the country.
'In accordance with the Election Bill of the Kingdom of Bhutan, April 20 and 21 and May 27 and 28 are declared as dry days wherein no person shall sell or serve liquor,' the chief election commissioner said.
Former king Jigme Singye Wangchuck last December abdicated the throne in favour of his eldest son, Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck, 26.
The transition began in 2001 when the former king handed over the powers of daily government to a council of ministers and empowered the National Assembly to force a royal abdication if three-quarters of its membership backed the motion.
Bhutan in 2004 unveiled a 34-point constitution and the same was sent to some 530,000 citizens for their views. The constitution is expected to be ratified after a referendum later this year. Once adopted, the constitution will replace a royal decree of 1953 giving the monarch absolute power.
|
Subscribe to Bhutan Newsletter
|
|
E-mail Address:
|
|
Feedback
|
For any corrections of factual information, to contact the editors or to send
any medical news or health news press releases, use
feedback form
|
Top of Page
|
