Dr Trashi Wangyel will lead the Bhutan Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He secured the presidency in a closely contested second round of voting, while Jamtsho and Tenzin Jamtsho were elected as the two Vice Presidents.
Dr Trashi Wangyel, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Rirab-Ugyen Tshenden Private Limited, secured 19 votes in the second round, defeating Phub Zam, who received 15 votes. Four candidates contested for the post of President.
The presidential election went into a second round after no candidate secured a clear majority in the first round. Dr Wangyel and Phub Zam received 14 votes each, while Sonam Chophel secured five votes and Phuntsho Wangdi received two.
Dr Tashi, who also serves as President of the Construction Association of Bhutan, will now lead BCCI as it works to represent the interests of businesses and concerns of the business community.
Meanwhile, Jamtsho and Tenzin Jamtsho were elected as the two Vice Presidents.
Jamtsho secured 15 votes and was elected as one of the Vice Presidents.
Tenzin Jamtsho received 14 votes, while Ugyen Tenzin secured four votes.
The contest for the second Vice President position went into a runoff between Tenzin Jamtsho and Ugyen Tenzin.
Tenzin Jamtsho won with 26 votes, while Ugyen Tenzin secured seven.
Beyond the top leadership positions, ten executive committee members representing affiliated business sector associations were also elected from among 11 candidates.
The four regional representatives from the Dzongkhag Business Development Committees will be elected at a future Annual General Meeting, once chairpersons are elected in all 20 districts.
The newly elected officials will observe a ten-day cooling period, during which they are not allowed to celebrate their election victories.
The new leadership is expected to represent the interests of the business community more effectively and address challenges facing the private sector.
Karma Wangdi
Edited by Sonam Pem
