Looking Forward
Another test is over.
The second round of the National Council elections was a success. The verity that there were no major glitches in the elections was commendable. Despite recent tensions of infiltrations in the country, which was in the form of a serial bomb explosions, exchange of fire in the south and a student with hand grenades, the flow was smooth. But the challenges remain. With some last minute accommodations from the Election Commission, the apprehension that there might not be a candidate from Gasa - which looked likely at a point of time - was also quelled.
Now, Bhutan has the first set of elected candidates for the National Council. The speculation game has begun as to who would be the five nominees from His Majesty that will absolute the first set of 25 parliamentarians to the National Council. But now we know we have a comprehensive team consisting of people eager to deliver under the new aegis of democracy.
The recent elections in the five dzongkhags were interesting on many fronts. People in Gasa, who were desperate for a candidate at a point of time and was quoted by a media saying that they would support any candidate who comes forth, gave their candidate shivers when one in every three voted against him.
Thimphu residents reminded the winning candidate that politicians cannot dare to test the temperament of the people. It was a lesson for other politicians that they should not undermine the people, even vaguely.
Trashi Yangtse showed that people still trust experience and age while Haa and Lhuntse saw hard work being accomplished.
In the three districts with lone candidates, 1,439 out of 7,635 people voted against their candidates. It means one in every five voters in these districts voted against the only contestant. It is a breakaway from the conventional relaxed notion that lone candidates will always win, and win easily. A good subtraction is that people are not willing to vend their votes easily. People know that every vote counts. Excuse the tag of naivety, which has been associated with our voters.
The two rounds of the Council elections also told us that some of our politicians should be more moral than they present themselves to be. In their familiarization tours, politicians did a pretty good job in informing the people about the importance of voting. They urged people that the expenditure incurred in going back to their village to vote was worth exercising the democratic franchise to elect the leader of their choice. But in both rounds of the National Council elections, we saw many National Assembly aspirants hanging around in Thimphu. We hope the politicians adhere themselves to their own speeches first to project themselves as our leaders.
Now, the national stethoscope is again on the National Assembly elections. Behold and be on guard.
Source: Bhutan Observer