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Note no. 428
13-Feb.-2008
BHUTAN: NC Elections- First Foray into Democracy- Update No. 68
By Dr. S. Chandrasekharan.
Bhutan made history of sorts on 31 December 2007, when elections to the National Council were held in 15 of the 25 dzongkhags (districts). By using Electronic voting machines, the results were announced the very next day. Elections to the remaining 5 dzongkhags could not be held on the same day as sufficient eligible candidates were not available then, but were held subsequently on January 29.
Compared to the activities relating to the National Assembly elections , election to the National Council ( upper house) was rather a tame affair and the people did not evince much interest. The reason could be that the people were already excited about the National Assembly elections which were soon to follow.
The voter turn out was not at expected levels, but considering the fact this is the first election for a democratic set up, glitches should be ignored. It is said that at some places, voters were redirected to other places for voting. The Chief Election Commissioner declared that the election was a huge success and he was confident that the switch over to democracy will be smooth and according to their plans.
India hailed the conduct of the first ever upper house elections and said that it was a great moment in Bhutan’s history and an important step in Bhutan’s transition to a new system of governance.
National Assembly Election Date Announced.
The Election Commission announced that the first General election under the new constitution will be held on March 24. On that day 47 candidates will be elected. The process began with the two political parties DPT and PDP ( Druk Phuensum Tshogpa and People’s Democratic Party respectively) recognised by the commission submitting the list of candidates along with their election manifesto and audited financial status of the parties. Campaigning began on 8th February as stipulated.
Curiously one other party BPUP ( Bhutan People’s United Party) was refused registration by the Election Commission on the ground that it lacked “credible leadership” and that more than 80 percent of the members were “school drop outs.” The Election Commission also observed that it was out of tune with the noble aspirations of the Bhutan Constitution. The Party is led by one Sigay Dorji, a former Royal Advisory Councillor. An appeal has been filed before the Election Commission. It looked that the decision to disqualify the party was an arbitrary one.
It should be said to the credit of the administration that the election campaign of the parties have been allowed to be lively and intense. As expected there were complaints and counter complaints of the parties and individual members violating the election code, but these were not serious ones and did not foul up the pre election’s scenario.
National Day Address of the King:
The King addressed the nation on the national day ( 19 December- 2007). He started with a pledge to carry on with the vision of the former King in the nation being founded on the philosophy of Gross National Happiness and the principles and ideals of democracy. He specifically addressed the youth, the civil servants, those participating in politics and finally the people. He ended his address by calling for “One Nation- One Vision” and for moving towards achieving the goals of vision of gross national happiness and a vibrant democracy.
As expected there was no mention of the refugee problem of over 100,000 Bhutanese refugees languishing in the seven camps in eastern Nepal. However the refugee issue is getting to be solved due to benign intervention of external powers who have agreed to take the bulk of the refugees for settlement.
We had watched admiringly the developments in Bhutan with a King who is enlightened. He had a vision for his country and the people. He had on his own introduced democracy in a country where the majority of the people do not understand the meaning of opposition as we understand in our polity and he voluntarily relinquished power to his son. It is beyond comprehension how such a benign person could have allowed the refugees ( his own subjects by any measure) to suffer as stateless people in another country. This perhaps stems from the belief that GNH can be achieved only by proper ethnic management of the country!
More and more literature are seen coming on the concept of Gross National Happiness. If one agrees that the economic development and GDP by themselves do not automatically make people happy, the concept envisioned by the King gives an alternative view of the issue. GNH is said to be based on four pillars that encompass cultural, environmental and spiritual dimensions balanced with socio economic growth.
GNH is now being put on a proper structural basis with the government announcing the formation of a GNH commission which will combine the functions of the Planning Commission and the committee of Secretaries. This commission will stream line the philosophy in the country’s plans and policies.
Economy:
Interestingly the economy has also shown a higher growth. For the year 2006, official sources mention that the GDP grew by 8.5 percent increasing from Nu29.2 billion to 31.6 billion. This growth was mainly achieved by partial commissioning of the 1020 MW Tala Hydro electric project, followed by mining and quarrying growing by 63 percent. Inflation rate was 4.5 percent and higher than the previous year.
It is said that structure of the economy has undergone a change in the last few years with the primary sector consisting of agriculture and mining declining to 23 percent from 29.3 percent in 2000, the secondary sector increasing by one percent over the same period and a bigger rise in the tertiary sector that comprises the entire service sector to 42.4 percent from 37.7 percent over the same period.
The Refugee Issue:
Finally and hopefully without any further hitch, preparations for third country settlement are going on at a fast pace with the USA taking the initiative in formally opening the office of “Overseas Processing Entity” (OEP) on 10th January, 2008. The US Ambassador while inaugurating function said that ‘resettlement’ was a compulsion because there was no prospect of repatriation despite efforts made for the last 18 years.
The Nepal government has also relented in agreeing to issue exit permits to all those selected for third country settlement and the first batch of the refugees numbering 10,000 may leave Nepal by the end of March.
As expected and as we feared, there has been certain radicalisation of the refugee youths in all the camps. The Communist Party of Bhutan ( ML) which had been underground in the camps has now come out openly and recruitment of their cadres for a militant wing has been going on. Some recent reports of the suspected activities of Maoist refugees in Bhutan should be of concern.
* On 16 January press reports indicated that the RBA exchanged fire with a group of militants in Lower Dhanessey in Tsirang. One of the militants captured later is said to have admitted that the group belonged to the Bhutan Tiger Force.
* Kuensel reported four bomb blasts on 20 January. The first blast took place in the vegetable market in Samste. No injuries or damage were caused by the blast. A second blast took place in Thimpu town and again there was no major damage. A third took place near the gate of the Tala Guest House in Gedu in Chukha district and a fourth took place in Dagapela in Dagana district. Police suspected the hand of the Bhutan Tiger Force and the Communist Party of Bhutan. In the Gedu blast one civilian succumbed to the injuries.
* On February 4, a powerful bomb blast occurred in a village in Samste district and two other bombs were defused.
Though denied by the Maoists of Bhutan, it is suspected that the disgruntled radicalised refugees would have been responsible.
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