Two officials involved in the last Local Government elections were found guilty of failing to declare a conflict of interest and follow the election officer’s code of conduct. The Wangdue Phodrang District Court, last month ordered the respective offices to withhold the increment of the officials for two years. The officials were on election duty in one of the mobile facilitation booths in Thimphu.
The officials who were found guilty by the court are Thimphu District election officer Damchoe Zangmo and polling officer Kuenga Choden.
One of the Gup candidates of Darkar Gewog in Wangdue Phodrang accused Kuenga Choden of not having declared her conflict of interest during the local government election last year. This was when her own brother contested the election for the post of Gup. He claimed that she could have unfairly influenced the voters at the facilitation booth where she was presiding as one of the polling officers.
According to the judgment, although it is not proved beyond reasonable doubt that she influenced the voters to vote for her brother, she had failed to declare her conflict of interest. As per the Election Act of Bhutan, “Election Officer shall disclose any relationship that could lead to a conflict of interest with his/her duties as an election officer.”
The judgment also stated that this was not in line with the handbooks of presiding officers, returning officers, and polling officers. According to the handbook, “it must be borne in mind that all election officials must be apolitical and further, must ensure that they are not posted to the Dzongkhag/Demkhong where his/her (census is) registered.
The plaintiff took the issue to the court after Wangdue Phodrang’s election office refused to accept his complaint. The candidate stated that although he had the highest EVM votes from the gewog, the brother of Kuenga Choden, Kinga, got the highest votes from the facilitation booths which decided the election.
According to sources, both the parties appealed to the High Court.
Kinley Dem
Edited by Sonam
