Tashi Yangtse Dzong
Photo Courtesy: Not of the blogger ( Source: Anonymous)
It was 17th December 2005, a special occasion for me, a special occasion for my fellow countrymen. It was a special day for my country Bhutan. It was because, we were to celebrate the National Day. All the government offices, schools and institutes across the country remained closed to take part in the celebration. I was there in of the western provinces to celebrate the day. It was about 9:00 AM in the morning and the sky looked bright. We were waiting for the National Day Address by His majesty the King.
His Majesty the 4th King Jigme Singye Wangchuk traveled all the way to one of the remotest part of the country called Tashi Yangtse to join the nation in celebrating the National Day. When His Majesty began his Royal Address to the nation through the live radio broadcast through Bhutan Broadcasting Service the only public broadcast in the country, the nation stood silent for a while, younger generations got confused, and the elders shocked and the senior citizens broke into tears. This happened when His Majesty the King announced that he will be abdicating his throne in favour of his heir, the crown prince before 2008. His Majesty said that this is being done give his heir more experience to establish a vibrant and dynamic democracy in Bhutan in 2008.
Consequently, in December 2006, His Majesty the 5th King officially assumed the post of King. In December 2007 I joined the rest of the citizens to elect and form the National Council and on 24th March 2008, joined the citizens of the country to take part in the first ever nationwide election of the first government of the democracy. And on 18th July 2008, the members of the parliament, the representatives of the clergy and the business representative signed the Constitution of Kingdom of Bhutan 2008 and finally transitioned from monarchy to constitutional monarchy. Since then the monarchy is just s symbol and all the powers have now vested in the hands of the elected government which are directly elected by the people.
Witnessing the process of democratization, it has taught me a new concept and value of democracy in the Bhutanese society. It altogether gave a different picture of what a democracy is and what are its values? Generally, democracy is understood as the freedom of right, liberty and freedom of expression, a demand that people can make. It is also understood that democracy comes through internal strife, struggle and war among the political leaders. Today as an eligible voter who exercised my franchise in all the elections took place in the process of democratization and as concerned citizen of the country, the concepts and values of the democracy painted a different picture in the Bhutanese society. Democracy is not about power but about responsibility. It is not about right but about duty. It is not about mere election but about electing the best leader who can best understands the problems of the people and bring solution to this. It is not about mere manifestos but about bringing socio-economic growth and political reconciliation and stability.
Article 23.2(b) of the Constitution of Kingdom of Bhutan 2008 states that a person shall have the right to vote if a person is not less than 18 years of age. And also article 23.3(c) states that a candidate for an election office shall be a minimum of 25 years of age and maximum of 65 years of age at the time of filing the nomination. As result today, Bhutan has one of the youngest members of the parliament in the history of Bhutan. Our country also has the one of the youngest ministers in the country after the election that is just thirty five years old. During the first ever nationwide elections for both the houses, many young, some even just completed their undergraduate level stood for the elections and many won too. Apart from standing for election, thousands of the youths who were students, trainees also took part in the democratization by casting their vote through postal services provided by the election commission. Such services to cast vote was only provided to students, arm forces and people on election duty. The political parties also have youth wings where youths can participate in the matters of youth and politics and democracy. These were true signs that Bhutan has created enough spaces for the youths to engage in the democracy.
Since the institution of democracy in Bhutan, the new government took a several steps in addressing the social issues and economic reforms in the country. For instance, the new government introduced extended classrooms for remote villages which are located far away from the schools. The acute shortages of nurses in the various districts were addressed through the recruitment of nurse assistants on temporary basis. This is given to provide more quality health services to the general public and fulfill the Millennium Development Goals. The democratically elected government is also hiring many doctors from abroad for the same reason. The government is also on the process of connecting all the villages with electricity by 2020.
Inspite of all these positive happenings, there were also events that changed my perception of democracy. These events took right in front of my own eyes as I witnessed the change taking place. When His Majesty the King first devolved his executive power in 1998 to the elected council of ministers during the 77th Session of the National Assembly, people’s representatives in the assembly were shocked and insisted that the power be with His Majesty the King but finally had to accept the royal command with reluctance. Then His Majesty the King himself traveled length to breadth of the country explaining the advantages of democracy, discussed the draft constitution with each article. His Majesty builds confidence in people by saying that Bhutan is ready for such move. His Majesty said that this is the right time for the country when the country is in politically stable and is in peace. His Majesty said that thus it will help the country to lay a strong foundation for democracy.
However, with the onset of political parties on stage, I saw people getting divided and there was....
Contd.........
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