Despite a few minor issues during polling, the Election Commission says yesterday’s thromde elections in Phuentshogling and Thimphu were conducted smoothly and in accordance with electoral procedures. Close to 3500 voters cast their ballots in the two thromdes to elect thrompons and thromde tshogpa.
While polling remained orderly across all 13 polling stations in the two thromdes, a few issues were reported.
Four voters at two polling stations in Thimphu Thromde found that their names were missing from the electoral roll. The Election Commission says the matter was immediately verified and resolved.
Chief Election Commissioner Deki Pema said, “There were four cases of voters reporting that their names were missing from the voter lists at the Jungshina and Loselling polling stations. We immediately verified their claims, completed the necessary procedures, and facilitated them to vote.”
The Commission also responded to concerns raised by some media organisations over access to counting centres. The Commission clarified that while media personnel are allowed inside, they cannot carry mobile phones or take photographs, in line with electoral rules.
The Chief Election Commissioner said, “Police personnel are allowed to carry their mobile phones into the counting centre as they serve as coordinators and may need to respond to security-related matters. Media personnel are not permitted to carry mobile phones or take photographs. This is in accordance with the law, which prohibits the dissemination of election-related information before voting officially concludes to prevent any undue influence on voters. This has always been the practice, and it will continue to be so.”
The Commission also piloted the Election and Result Administration System, which it described as a success. The system displays results in real time as Returning Officers upload them after polling officially closes. The Commission said while a few improvements are still needed, the system functioned smoothly without any significant issues.
“One of the indicators we look at is the number of spoilage or invalid votes, which determines the quality of the election. Yesterday, there were no spoilage recorded at any of the 13 polling stations,” said the chief election commissioner.
According to the commission, 182 officials, including around 35 polling officers, were deployed across all polling stations in Phuentshogling and Thimphu.
Deki Lhazom/Tashi Dekar
Edited by Phub Gyem
