The High Court dismissed the petition submitted by three individuals who contested in the recent National Council or NC elections in Sarpang against the NC Elect Pema Tashi on Friday. The judiciary’s media and communication unit last week said the three individuals wanted the court to investigate if Pema Tashi had the ten-year work experience required to be nominated as a candidate. Pema Tashi told BBS that he has 13 years of work experience which was verified by the Election Commission of Bhutan.
According to the judgement, the plaintiffs should have appealed either to the Central Election Dispute Settlement Body at the national level or the Dzongkhag Election Dispute Settlement Body at Dzongkhag Level in accordance with Section 5 of the Election Dispute Settlement Rules and Regulations of the Kingdom of Bhutan, 2018.
Moreover, the judgement also states that Election Dispute Settlement Body concerned has to “decide the case based on the investigation report, substantiated submission by either party during the hearing, and/or any other information from a relevant and valid source,” as per the Section 19.1.1 of the Election Dispute Settlement Rules and Regulations.
The judgement also says the appeal letter did not fulfil the requirements of an election petition as required by Section 479 of the Election Act of the Kingdom of Bhutan, 2008. According to the judgement, the plaintiffs did not have any evidence of corrupt practices committed by the accused to back their accusations.
The High Court further stated that the case did not merit adjudication as “there is no issue or subject to be reviewed by the bench”, and that“the will of the people shall prevail.”
Kinzang Lhadon
Edited by Kipchu
