Bhutan went to polls today to decide the country’s third democratically elected government. The two parties- Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa and Druk Phuensum Tshogpa contesting the general election would get to form the new government.
A total of 304,659 out of the 438,663 registered voters are expected to have voted through Electronic Voting Machine (EVM). The remaining 134,004 are postal voters.
In Thimphu, people started arriving at the polling stations from as early as eight in the morning. There are around 27 polling stations in the district.
The polling booths opened from 9 am to 5 pm.
People said they came to exercise their franchise with a hope to elect the best party to serve the Tsa-Wa-Sum.
“I am voting for the first time today. This opportunity comes only in five years, that is why I came to vote,” Jigme Wangdi said.
“Whichever party comes to power, I hope they will benefit our children and the country in the future,” Rinzin said.
“We have the right to choose our government. If we do not exercise our franchise, a single vote could make a huge difference,” Tandin Sonam said.
A total of 865 polling stations have been set up across the country with over 5,200 officials on election duty.
