Nine Nepali speakers elected to Druk assembly

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geshan's picture
Posted March 26th, 2008 by geshan

Source: http://www.kantipuronline.com/kolnews.php?&nid=141949

KAKADBHITTA, March 26 - Nine Nepali-speaking candidates were elected to Bhutan’s National Assembly on Monday. They are all from the Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT), the party led by former Bhutanese prime minister Jigme Y Thinley.

Of the nine, Lila Pradhan is the sole woman. She has been elected from Samchi district with 4,592 votes.

All four constituencies of the southern district, mostly inhibited by Nepali speakers, saw the victory of the Nepali-speaking candidates. The other victors in the district are Thakur Singh Poudel, Durga Prasad Chhetri and Pralhad Gurung.

Similarly, Hemanta Gurung has been elected in Dagana district while Nara Bahadur Gurung left his contenders trailing behind in Chirang. Yankhu Chhiring Sherpa (Chirang district), Prem Kumar Gurung and Nanda Lal Rai (both Sarbhang district) have also been elected to Assembly seats.

Of the total of 47 constituencies, the DPT garnered a landslide victory with 44 seats. The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) - headed by another former prime minister Sangey Ngedup Dorjee, who is also a maternal uncle of Bhutan’s king, was limited to three seats.

Although the Bhutanese government’s news portal, Kuensel Online, said that 74.4 percent voters used their franchise, as many as 102,077 Bhutanese were deprived of this right as they were denied citizenship certificates, no objection certificates and identity cards by local authorities.

One Tilak Chettri, who has been living in Jayagaun of India as a refugee, said that those not in the voters’ list were sternly warned not to approach the polling booths.

“Those defying such orders were warned of strong action on the charge of disrupting the poll,” he said, adding, “We don’t have the right to even keep abreast of developments in our own country.”

The election was held ignoring the rights of over 100,000 Bhutanese refugees languishing in seven different camps in eastern Nepal, and hundreds of others in neighboring areas of India.

 

Great News, can I interprete it as "Give us refugees and we give you parlamentarians?"

 

Bhutan’s polls: Is it Real Democracy? ›

Hatti aayo hatti aayo: fussa

rabin's picture
On March 26th, 2008
rabin
says:

Oh great! Why don't Bhutan send those legislatures to Nepal too? So that US can take them to US. (Its just matter of time)

How could International Community be blind to attitude of Bhutan? Instead of pressuring Bhutan to take back its people, they are offering third country settlements. May be their conflict of interests play major role. We haven't heard US or other EU countries or other nations proposing Nepal to take all Tibetan Refugees. Well they came here first, so don't they have rights to be first to go?

But hell no! They are needed here to pressure China (or support to start anti-china campaign like US supported Khampa Struggle in 80's).

And Bhutan? Well It's virtually under India, so India don't want Nepali origin Bhutanese to rule Bhutan (one Nepal is enough). And other countries? ALL have their own interest........ and Bhutanese will always suffere and so will Nepal.