Bhutanese general election, 2008

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	Government	Opposition
‹ none Next ›
Bhutanese general election, 2008 All 47 seats to the National Assembly
March 24, 2008

Leader	Jigme Thinley	Sangay Ngedup
Party	DPT	PDP
Leader's seat	Nanong-Shumar	Kabji-Talo
Last election	-	-
Seats won	45	2
Seat change	+59	+2
Popular vote	169,490	83,322
Percentage	67.04%	32.96%

Results of the Bhutanese Elections.
Incumbent PM Kinzang Dorji No Party PM-Elect Jigme Thinley DPT

Bhutan
This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Bhutan

King Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck Council of Ministers Prime Minister Jigme Thinley Je Khenpo Parliament of Bhutan National Assembly of Bhutan National Council of Bhutan Political parties Elections: 2007–08 - 2008 Royal High Court Districts Foreign relations
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Bhutan held its first general election on March 24, 2008^[1] 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^[2] and is led by Jigme Y. Thinley, and the People's Democratic Party (PDP). The third political party, the Bhutan National Party (BNP),^[3]^[4] had its application for the registration cancelled.

1 Electoral system
2 Constituencies
3 Results
4 Mock elections
5 Election schedule
6 References
7 External links

[edit] 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.^[5] However, as only two parties successfully registered for the election, the election was held in one round.^[1]

[edit] Constituencies

The 47 constituencies of the National Assembly of Bhutan are:

District	Constituencies
Bumthang	Chhoekhor-Tang
Bumthang	Chhume-Ura
Chhukha	Phuentsholing
Chhukha	Bongo-Chapcha
Dagana	Druzeygang-Tseza
Dagana	Lhamoy Zingkha-Trashiding
Gasa	Goenkhatoe-Laya
Gasa	Goenkhamey-Lunana
Haa	Bji-Katsho-Uesu
Haa	Sombaykha
Lhuentse	Gangzur-Minjay
Lhuentse	Menbi-Tshenkhar
Mongar	Mongar
	Dremitse-Ngatshang
	Kengkhar-Weringla
Paro	Lamgong-Wangchang
Paro	Doga-Shaba
Pema Gatshel	Nganglam
	Khar-Yurung
	Nanong-Shumar
Punakha	Lingmukha-Toewang
Punakha	Kabji-Talo
Samdrup Jongkhar	Deothang-Gomdar
Samdrup Jongkhar	Jomotshangkha-Martshala
Samtse	Pagli-Samtse
	Sipsu
	Dorokha-Tading
	Ugentse-Yoeseltse
Sarpang	Shompangkha
Sarpang	Gelephu
Thimphu	North Thimphu Throm-Kawang-Lingshi-Naro-Soe
Thimphu	South Thimphu Throm-Chang-Dagala-Genye-Mewang
Trashigang	Radhi-Sakteng
	Bartsham-Shongphu
	Thrimshing Kanglung
	Kanglung-Samkhar-Uzorong
	Wamrong
Trashi Yangtse	Bumdeling-Jamkhar
Trashi Yangtse	Khamdang-Ramjar
Trongsa	Nubi-Tangsibji
Trongsa	Drakteng-Langthel
Tsirang	Pataley-Tsirangtoe
Tsirang	Kikhorthang-Mendrelgang
Wangdue Phodrang	Nyisho-Sephu
Wangdue Phodrang	Athang-Thedtsho
Zhemgang	Bardo-Trong
Zhemgang	Panbang

[edit] Results

e•d Summary of the 24 March 2008 Bhutanese National Assembly **election results**
Parties	Votes	%	Seats
Bhutan Peace and Prosperity Party	169,490	67.04	45
People's Democratic Party	83,522	32.96	2
Total votes (turnout 79.4%)	253,012	100.00	47
Source: election-bhutan.org

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.^[6]

Another attempt to explain the BPPP's large-scale victory is that it is apparently the more royalist of the two parties.^[7]

Due to a mistake in tallying the votes in Phuntsholing,^[8] it turned out that actually, the BPPP had won 45 seats and the PDP only 2.^[9]

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.^[10]^[11]

The DPT officially approved its leader as candidate for PM on 5 April 2008.^[12] He took office on 9 April.^[13]

[edit] 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.^[14] 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.^[15] Election observers were present from the United Nations and from India.^[16]

The results of the first round were as follows:^[17]

Party	Votes	%
Druk Yellow Party	55,263	44.30
Druk Red Party	25,423	20.38
Druk Blue Party	≤25,423	≤20.38
Druk Green Party	≥18,638	≥14.94
Total (turnout 44%)	124,747	100

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.^[17] The Druk Yellow Party swept the vote and won 46 of the 47 constituencies. Turnout in the second round was 66%.^[18]

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.^[19]

[edit] 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.^[20]

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.^[20]

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.^[20]