Elections in Bhutan
Dzongkhags (districts), Gewogs (village blocks), and Thromdes (municipalities), all elect members of local administrative governments with varying degrees of authority.
These laws cover candidacy, voter registration, campaigning, political parties, and procedural aspects of voting.
[7] The Constitution provides a bare substantive and procedural framework, incorporating then-existing election laws insofar as they did not conflict.
[nb 6] The king appoints the Chief Election Commissioner and two other Election Commissioners for five year terms from a list submitted by the Prime Minister, Chief Justice, Speaker of the National Assembly, Chairperson of the National Council, and leader of the opposition party.
[nb 19] All Election Officers are bound by a code of conduct forbidding corruption, conflicts of interest, and acts or speech of a political nature.
[nb 24] The Bhutanese electorate is composed solely of single member constituencies at both national and local levels.
[nb 28] The National Council has 25 members comprising one directly elected nonpartisan representative from each of the twenty dzongkhags and five "eminent persons" nominated by the king.
[nb 38] The Constitution mandates that religious figures remain "above politics," while the only special ground under the Election Act is being declared "of unsound mind" by a court, the clause is permissive of reducing voting rights through other legislation.
Parties are required to promote democracy, and are forbidden to organize along status lines, including region, gender, language, or religion.
[nb 46] The Election Commission denies applications of parties based on status, business concerns; of those with military or paramilitary structures; and of others within its discretion.
[nb 48] All political parties must make annual disclosures including their assets, income, expenditures, and membership.
[nb 50] Political parties may be dissolved voluntarily, by the Supreme Court, or by removal from registers by the Election Commission.
Nominations are generally scrutinized and handled by the Returning Officer and overseen by the Election Commission, and withdrawals are available both voluntarily and by subsequent finding of ineligibility.
[nb 52] If the Returning Officer denies a nomination, appeals may be made to the Election Commission under a set procedure.
[nb 57] Candidates are disqualified if they, inter alia, have ever been sentenced to imprisonment or found guilty of corruption in elections, are married to foreigners, is facing a pending felony, or holds any "office of profit."
(Office of Profit)[nb 59] Campaigns must be conducted within proscribed periods, with equitable time reserved among candidates on electronic media.
[nb 61] The Election Act contains an Election Code of Conduct that includes mandates and prohibitions for parties and candidates, including a bans on wearing of kabneys (which convey social and official status) in public campaigns, approaching voters at polling places, and holding public meetings within 48 hours of any poll.
[nb 68] Polls are commenced as proscribed by the Election Commission and under the supervision of the Presiding Officer, who confirms the emptiness and operation of voting boxes and machines.
[nb 69] Voting may be paused in the event of emergency, and the Election Act provides a detailed framework for its resumption.
[nb 72] Dzongkhag Election Officers bear the responsibility of providing adequate and accessible polling stations, and notice to the populace of their location.
[nb 80] Votes are subjected to scrutiny, may be viewed but not touched by those other than counting staff, and may be rejected for a variety of reasons detailed below.
[nb 86] Election Representatives may challenge the identity of voters and refer them to the Presiding Officer of the polling place.
[nb 89] Those voters whose identity likewise fails scrutiny of the Presiding Officer are allowed to swear an oath, file an affidavit, and cast a provisional vote, which is sealed in an envelope.
[nb 95] Referendums may be initiated by the king if, in his opinion, a bill that fails in a joint sitting of Parliament is of national importance; if Parliament likewise insists on the passage of a bill not assented to by the king; or if an appeal is made by not less than fifty percent of the total number of members of all Dzongkhag Tshogdus.
Candidacy requirements including security clearance and extensive competence, legal, and documentary showings have served to dwindle numbers of available local government cadres.
Furthermore, other aspects of the Bhutanese legal landscape, from the Constitution to citizenship legislation, shape election-related issues in Bhutan.
[16][17][18] Because of electoral rolls reflect census data on citizenship and origin, many would-be voters in 2011 were legally registered in Dzongkhags and Chiwogs other than where they reside.
The functional literacy and skills test alone left many constituencies without the minimum of two candidates, leading to lengthy delay of the local government elections of 2011, originally slated for 2008.
[17][19][20][21][22] This has raised the question of whether women would benefit from quotas in public service, highlighting the need to encourage further female electoral and political participation.
[25] In 2012, amendments were proposed that would change government funding of the ruling and opposition parties, oversight by the executive and parliament, and restrictions on partisan status.
