With no mobile voting booths available this National Council Elections and postal ballots for senior citizens and physically challenged individuals done away with, many individuals could have missed out on the chance to vote. In Samdrup Jongkhar, though some physically challenged individuals came forward to vote on their wheelchairs, people like Tobgay and his bedridden wife were not able to exercise the franchise this time.
Though the polling station is just 15 minutes’ walk from Rekhey village in Dewathang, where they live, 84-year-old Tobgay and his wife could not vote.
Tobgay’s wife is bedridden for more than three years and without anyone to look after her; he has to stay with her all the time.
Both Tobgay and his wife, however, voted during the last Local Government Elections through the mobile voting booth facility but today, Tobgay says is impossible to visit a polling station due to his wife’s deteriorating health.
“If I try to lift her up, her breathing will stop, so it is impossible to take her to the polling station. And in my case, as I have to look after her every minute of the day, even though I would like to go and vote, I can’t, as there is no one here to take care of her,” said Tobgay.
However, despite inconveniences, a physically challenged woman in Serthig Gewog made her way to Menjiwoong polling station.
Likewise, another woman at Gomdar Gewog had to seek her family’s help to visit her polling station in Narphung.
During the 2021 Local Government (LG) Elections, more than 700 voters cast their votes through a mobile voting booth in Samdrup Jongkhar
Similarly, 10,690 individuals across the country voted through the facility, which was meant for the convenience of the elderly citizens and people living with disabilities during the last LG elections.
The Election Commission of Bhutan discontinued the operation of mobile voting booths this time as a cost-cutting measure.
Kinley Wangchuk, Samdrup Jongkhar
Edited by Kipchu
