Polls apart in Bhutan

 

 

This year, two Himalayan Kingdoms showed two different patterns of democratic transformation. While in Bhutan a King helped usher in democracy, the birth pangs of a “Republic” Nepal were audible as well. Himalayan kingdoms have been in turmoil lately. Tibet is burning and Nepal is in the doldrums. The successful elections in Bhutan was a rare bright spot.

Last year, when Bhutan's royals told the people that power would be transferred to their hands, few lent their ears to the decree. News that would have been generated hysteria in a West Asian or African nation, failed to incite any passion. A transformation process that once required the likes of Patrick Lubamba and Colonel Nasser and heaps of corpses, got a lukewarm response here. Yet, when it came to voting, the people of Bhutan showed surprising enthusiasm. Not only did they turn out in huge numbers, they made people hear their choice loud, although not so clear.

This week’s election is expected to trigger immense transformation in this profoundly conservative, secluded country. The Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) party—led by the charismatic Jigmi Thinlay—won the elections, sweeping 44 of the 47 seats in the new Parliament. The turnout among the 320,000 registered voters was high, at nearly 80 percent. Thinlay was successful in portraying his party as a harbinger of change. On other hand,, the Sangay Ngedup-led PDP failed to whip up much support though Ngedup enjoys unparalleled clout in the royal palace—four of his sisters are married to the previous king, Jigme Singe Wangchuk.

Results aside, there was not much difference in the poll planks of the two parties. Both support the king and are committed to maintaining Bhutan’s "Gross National Happiness"—an index based on the principle that economic growth should be balanced by respect for traditions and the environment. Therefore, eyebrows were raised when the result presented an absolute contrast. Talking to TSI from Bhutan, Dasho Karma Ura, head of the Centre for Bhutan Studies, said: “There were no outstanding divergences between the planks of the two parties. I am surprised at the contrast. We are all caught completely off balance at the absence of a good opposition.”

There were other hiccups as well. Last week, rebel Nepalese factions hurled three bombs in separate localities in the kingdom creating more panic that physical damage. The gripes of these fringe elements stem from 1990, when lakhs of ethnic Nepalis—primarily Hindus—were expelled from Bhutan after they objected to discrimination. More than 100,000 ethnic Nepalis now live in crowded camps in Nepal. The new government will have to watch out for these threats in future.