Parliamentary elections in Bhutan in 2008
In the parliamentary elections in Bhutan in 2008 , the voters of the Kingdom of Bhutan elected a national assembly for the first time on March 24, 2008 . They awarded 47 mandates for which the Democratic People's Party (PDP) and the Bhutanese Party for Peace and Prosperity (DPT) competed.
The upper house of the new parliament was already elected in December 2007. The election to the National Assembly, the lower house of the parliament of Bhutan , was the last step in the establishment of a constitutional monarchy .
The introduction of the constitutional monarchy in the isolated Himalayan state can be traced back to an initiative of the former king Jigme Singye Wangchuck , who announced democratic elections in 2005. At the end of 2006, he abdicated and handed over the business of government to his son, Crown Prince Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck . The coronation of the new king took place in 2008.
Result
Since only the two parties at the time of the election People's Democratic Party ( People's Democratic Party , PDP) and Druk Phuensum Tshogpa ( Bhutanese party for peace and prosperity, DPT ) existed, accounted for the first round of voting. The Bhutan National Party (BNP), also founded in 2007, was not recognized as a party because it did not have the required nationwide membership and a clear program.
On January 20, 2008, there were bombings in four locations, including the capital Thimphu . A group called the United Revolutionary Front of Bhutan took responsibility for the attacks. Despite the violence before the elections, the election in Bhutan's 20 districts with more than 850 polling stations went smoothly, according to the electoral commission. There were a total of 318,000 eligible voters. Members of the royal family and Buddhist monks were not eligible to vote. The turnout was just under 80%. International observers, including a European Union election observation mission , monitored the elections.
In the elections the royalists won an overwhelming victory. The DPT won 45 of the 47 seats. The PDP only got two mandates. The turnout was 79.4 percent. The content-related profile of the parties did not differ much from one another, but the DPT was closer to the king.
The only ballot was based on the British model, in the form of relative majority voting. The candidate with the most votes won the electoral seat. Therefore, there is a discrepancy between the voting share of the two parties and the seats in parliament.
As a result of the election, the Chairman of the DPT Jigme Thinley took up the post of Prime Minister on April 9, 2008. The leader of the opposition was PDP MP Tshering Tobgay. The National Assembly was constituted in a session on April 22nd and elected Jigme Tshultim (DPT) as its new President.
| Party / electoral alliance | be right | Share of votes | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bhutanese Party for Peace and Prosperity ( Druk Phuensum Tshogpa , DPT) | 169,490 | 67.04% | 45 |
| People's Democratic Party (PDP) | 83,522 | 32.96% | 2 |
| Total votes (turnout 79.4%) | 253.012 | 100.00% | 47 |
Web links
- Statistical Informations on Elections in Bhutan (2006-2015). (PDF, 9 MB) Election Commission of Bhutan, pp. 15-23 , accessed on February 15, 2017 (English).
- Official website of the electoral commission. Election Commission of Bhutan, accessed February 15, 2017 .
- Official website of the People's Democratic Party (PDP). People's Democratic Party, archived from the original on January 16, 2014 ; accessed on February 15, 2017 (English).
- Official website of the Bhutanese Party for Peace and Prosperity (DPT). Druk Phuensum Tshogpa, accessed February 15, 2017 .
Remarks
- ↑ a b c BHUTAN Tshogdu (National Assembly), ELECTIONS IN 2008. In: INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNION. Retrieved August 14, 2018 .
