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In Bhutan, a 'mock' poll for democracy's uninitiated
To prepare for the country's first elections next year, Bhutanese queued up on Saturday for a trial run.
from the April 26, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 3
Democracy on the roof of the world
"Just as Alice, when she walked through the looking glass, found herself in a new and whimsical world, so we, when we crossed the Pa Chu, found ourselves as though caught up on some magic time machine fitted fantastically with a reverse," the British governor of Bengal, Lord Ronaldshay, wrote of his visit to Bhutan in 1921. Surprisingly little has changed in the intervening years.
Perhaps most curious of all is Bhutan's promotion of Gross National Happiness (GNH) as an alternative development measure to Gross National Product (GNP). The term was coined by Bhutan's last king, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, in the 1970s, when Bhutan was admitted to the United Nations.
"It's an idea that's catching on across the world, the importance of things like a sense of community," says Nicolas Rosellini, the UN resident coordinator in Bhutan.
"But here in Bhutan, where there is genuine contentment, people want to know how democracy will fit in. That's why these mock elections are such a sensible step."
It was King Wangchuck who launched Bhutan's democratization process in the late 1990s. In 1998, he ceded some powers to a national assembly; in 2001, the chairman of the assembly was declared prime minister. Last December, he handed the throne to his 26-year-old, Oxford-educated son, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, to oversee Bhutan's transition to democracy.
Before abdicating, the last king circulated a draft constitution stipulating that the king would become head of state, but parliament would have the power to impeach him by a two-thirds vote.
"Personally, I would prefer to keep the king's rule," says Kunzang Wangdi, Bhutan's chief election commissioner, as he joined a queue of voters in Thimphu early on Saturday morning. "But even a good monarchy is seen as an autocratic government."
A vote to end voting
In the end, only 125,000 of Bhutan's population of 635,000 voted. And when the results were announced on Saturday night, Bhutan appeared to have voted for the status quo, insofar as the elections allowed them to do so. Of four fictitious parties – Druk Red (for industrial development), Druk Green (for ecological sustainability), Druk Blue (justice and accountability), and Druk Yellow (traditional values) – the Yellow Party emerged as the hands down winner, with around 44 percent of the vote.
"Yellow stands for Bhutan's culture, but it's also the color of the scarf the king wears for ceremonial events," said a beaming Tandin Dorji, a tour guide in Thimphu, on Sunday morning.
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