Amid most offices in the country seeing staff resignations in huge numbers, the Election Commission has also been no exception. But with the National Assembly elections nearing, the office says preparations are under full swing and remains confident of conducting a successful election. The commission says the office has already recruited and trained new officials to fill in the gap and prepare for the elections.
More than 40 officials left office between June 2021 and September this year. This was among the highest number of staff attrition the office faced in such a period.
Today, the commission has over a hundred staff.
“Staff attrition is not only in ECB but it is everywhere in Bhutan that we see in media and newspapers. ECB is not an exception to such situations. However, we have recruited new officials and trained them and they are ready to handle the elections,” said Phub Dorji, the director of the Election Commission of Bhutan.
He added that preparations for the upcoming elections have been progressing smoothly and efficiently.
The commission’s election offices in the districts have completed carrying out Civic and Voter Education in the Gewogs and Chiwogs, to create awareness among voters at the grassroots level last month.
“We have developed our strategy to conduct the National Assembly Elections. Our Dzongkhag registration officers are here and are doing training on the electoral roll which is one of the main documents for election. Our dzongkhag election officers are here, we are having coordination on how to go about and what are the strategies and plans that we have put in place. With this, we will be prepared,” said Director Phub.
According to the commission, there will be 810 polling stations set up across the country for the upcoming elections. It is a decrease of 56 compared to the past elections.
Meanwhile, the five registered political parties have submitted their manifestos to the commission. The ECB has formed a vetting committee to evaluate their manifestos and campaign pledges.
In the meantime, the commission prompts people not to miss out on the opportunity to exercise their fundamental voting rights.
The members of the third National Assembly will complete their tenure on the 31st of this month.
Kinzang Lhadon
Edited by Phub Gyem
