With a total vote of 2,333, Lhaki Dolma, one of Bhutan’s leading female actors, has been elected as the new National Council member of Punakha.
She defeated seven other candidates, including a fellow woman contestant, in the Third National Council election held yesterday.
Lhaki Dolma won with quite an impressive margin of 822 votes.
Of the total 2,333 votes that NC elect Lhaki Dolma received, 1,627 were EVM votes and 706 postal ballot votes.
As a popular female actor, 39-year-old Lhaki Dolma from Dzomi Gewog has long been a household name.
She graduated from the College of Language and Cultural Studies in Simtokha and obtained her Post Graduate Diploma from the Royal Institute of Management in Thimphu.
Lhaki Dolma came second in the 2003 RCSC examination and went on to work as a Human Resource Officer with the Ministry of Agriculture before resigning to pursue a career in acting.
Speaking to BBS earlier today, NC elect Lhaki Dolma said she is overwhelmed and speechless, and thanked the people of Punakha for choosing her.
She added her motivation to contest in National Council election stemmed from her passion and desire to do something for women in Bhutan.
“When I met with the women in the villages, I came across many problems associated with them, especially concerning marriage and child protection,” Lhaki Dolma said.
“I would like to interact more with them and analyze the situation. I may not know everything, so I would seek guidance from other capable people.”
As a National Council member now, Lhaki Dolma hopes she would be able to bring to forefront the many issues and challenges facing women in Bhutan.
Some of the voters BBS spoke to in Punakha were elated to have a women representative.
“I personally feel there is no difference between male and female.,” said Khandu. “We should give chance to female candidates to represent us sometimes. These days with many qualified women, there is more to look forward to from our women members.”
“I am happy because most of the times male candidates win, but this time we have a women representative,” Tshering Dolma said.
“It makes me happy that women can equally compete with men and can also defeat men at times. She won all because of her capabilities. Even the Monggar candidate won because of her potential and we feel they will serve us with the best of their abilities.”
Women participation in election and trust in women leadership, which go hand in hand, remains dismal. Even when the women come forward, their chances of winning often remain slim.
Therefore, some of the voters said the few elected women have the important responsibility of changing attitudes towards women leadership.
Punakha had eight candidates vying for a seat in the National Council this time.
With 1,511 votes, Tshencho Wangdi received the second highest votes followed by Namgay Wangchuk who secured 1,471 votes.
Sonam and Kinley Wangchuk obtained 1,267 and 1,207 votes respectively, while Dechen Zangmo, the other female candidate, managed to secure 995 votes only.
Dechen Thaiye Dorji secured 727 votes and with 507, Rinchen Dorji secured the least number of votes.
