The Election Commission of Bhutan (ECB) will provide door to door service for the voters in Phuentshogling in the ongoing Thromde elections due to the lockdown in the thromde. There will be 13 teams that will go around to provide the service.
The commission contacted every voter in Phuentshogling and asked for their accurate addresses in the past few days following the lockdown. The officials will go to the doorsteps of the voters to collect the votes from tomorrow. The ECB officials said health protocols will be strictly followed.
The commission along with district election officers will also provide mobile postal ballot services to those voters stuck in other districts due to the lockdown.
“For example, if a voter is in Paro, his exact address is asked. The documents will be sent to the election officer in Paro via the internet. The Election officer in Paro will print and go to that given address of the voter. There the voter will be made to vote and the envelope will be sealed,” said Phub Dorji, the Head of the Department of Civic and Electoral Education at the ECB.
He said the commission has allocated three vehicles that will collect the votes from the districts. The commission recorded 147 Phuentshogling voters who are currently in other districts. 57 of them are in Thimphu and some are as far as Trashigang.
Meanwhile, the election in Gelegphu and Thimphu will be conducted as usual. The commission’s officials said no additional polling stations will be installed.
“Firstly, we have offered the postal ballot service to everyone, unlike previous years. Secondly, we are providing mobile postal ballot services to people above the age of 65 and people living with a disability. We are also giving more time on the poll day that is from 8 am to 6 in the evening. Previously it was 9 to 5 pm. So all these factors should have decreased the number of voters coming out on the poll day,” the Head of the Department of Civic and Electoral Education added.
There are over 10,400 voters in the three thromdes for the upcoming election. Thimphu thromde has the highest registered voters at over 8,000 followed by Gelegphu thromde at more than 1,500. Phuentshogling has about 930 registered voters.
Kinley Dem
