May 27, 2007
Bhutan Ready to Shed
Monarchy for Democracy, Peacefully by Syed Zarir Hussain
Thimphu
Tenzin Chhoeda, 42, is getting restless by the day and discusses
animatedly with friends Bhutan's planned transition from monarchy to
parliamentary democracy.
Like many others, he has plenty of doubts and fears.
"Will the change be good for the society?" "Maybe the present
monarchial system is getting irrelevant." "Will democracy lead to
chaos and anarchy in a country like Bhutan?"
The Bhutanese don't have an answer yet. Their confabulations often
end abruptly without anyone able to fathom what the future holds to
them.
But despite doubts in the minds of the 700,000 people in the
Himalayan kingdom, the predominantly Buddhist nation of Bhutan is
all set to stage the second and final phase of the staggered mock
polls next week.
An estimated 283,506 people are eligible to vote.
Monday's exercise is part of the final dry run to familiarise people
in the "Land of the Thunder Dragon" with how parliamentary democracy
actually works.
"We are all geared up for the final round of dummy elections. We
expect a fairly good turnout," Bhutan's Chief Election Commissioner
Dasho Kunzang Wangdi told a visiting IANS correspondent in capital
Thimphu.
The first or the primary round of mock polls was held April 21 in
all the 47 parliamentary constituencies.
Real parliamentary elections are due to be held before June 2008,
the culmination of a plan by former king Jigme Singye Wangchuck -
who handed his crown to his young Oxford-educated son Jigme Khesar
Namgyel Wangchuck in December - to change with the times and
relinquish absolute rule.
Voting would begin at 9 a.m. (GMT + 0600 hrs) and end at 5 p.m.
Monday. Counting of votes would begin soon after.
"We have already placed about 10,000 officials, including security
personnel, for the elections in 873 polling centres spread over 47
parliamentary constituencies," Wangdi said.
The first round of the dummy polls involved voters choosing their
favourite colour - the challengers being the Druk (Thunder Dragon)
Blue Party, the Druk Green Party, the Druk Red Party and the Druk
Yellow Party.
The Yellow Party that stood for 'ensuring unity of the country
through preservation of traditions, culture, and values' emerged the
winner in the dummy polls. The Red Party came second with a promise
to work towards industrial development of Bhutan.
"In the first round people voted for political parties and in the
final round Monday people would vote for candidates of the Yellow
and the Red parties that emerged the top two winners in the primary
round," Wangdi explained.
The candidates Monday would be students chosen randomly from high
schools, belonging to the two fictitious parties - Yellow and Red.
The same electoral procedure would be followed in the real elections
next year.
"Nearly 51 percent polling was recorded in the primary round last
month," Wangdi said.
Known as a Shangri-la of breathtaking beauty, landlocked Bhutan's
transition to democracy began in 2001 when the then king handed over
the powers of daily government to a council of ministers. He
famously decided to make Bhutan's priority not its gross domestic
product or GDP, but "gross national happiness".
A 34-point draft constitution unveiled in 2004 has also been sent to
the Bhutanese people for their views ahead of the 2008 polls. The
constitution will replace a 1953 royal decree giving the monarch
absolute power. But people like Chhoeda are still confused about the
proposed transition.
"I don't know what is good for Bhutan. I think we were all very
happy with the present system," said Chhoeda, an entrepreneur
dealing in handicrafts.
But those at the helm of affairs said Bhutan was ready to embrace
democracy.
"We are ready for the change and we believe the vision of democracy
envisaged by the former king would be good for the nation," the
chief election commissioner said.
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