Bhutan is all set to go to polls for the general round of the Fourth National Assembly Elections, tomorrow. The Election Commission of Bhutan, ECB, has deployed over 6,000 officials including security personnel to 812 polling stations across the country. The polls open at eight in the morning and will close at 5 PM.
According to the ECB, three extended polling stations have been set up, two in Punakha, and one in Paro.
The extended polling stations are for the residents of Laya, Lunana and Soe-Yagsa who migrated to Punakha and Paro for the winter months.
Meanwhile, all the polling officials reached their polling stations, yesterday, and all preparations are in place for the poll day.
“We have been preparing for the poll day right after the LG elections in 2021. We have conducted the NC election and continued the work for the NA elections thereafter. We are happy to report that we are fully prepared,” said ECB’s Director of Secretariat, Phub Dorji.
According to the ECB’s final electoral roll, there are over 496,000 registered voters, of which nearly 126,000 have registered for postal ballots.
Samtse has the highest number of registered voters with more than 53,300 voters, followed by Trashigang with over 52,900 voters.
Meanwhile, Gasa has the lowest number of registered voters with just 2,300.
“No matter how much we are prepared, the success of this election depends on voters. Therefore, we would like to request all eligible voters to come and vote, tomorrow. The other thing is that the voters will have to carry either the voter card or their valid citizenship identity card,” said Phub Dorji.
The poll day tomorrow is declared as a public holiday. All business entities and offices are to remain closed.
However, restaurants and eateries can remain open. The sale of alcohol or liquor is prohibited.
The international border gates will remain closed from 6 PM tonight until 6 PM tomorrow.
Kinzang Lhadon
Edited by Sangay Chezom
