The third Thromde Elections will be over soon. New members of the Thromde Tshogde will assume office. But one question, in fact, the same question that has been asked in the past thromde elections, will be on the minds of many once again. Were the residents adequately represented this time?
With a population of more than a hundred thousand people, Thimphu is the country’s most densely populated thromde. But when it comes to choosing its Thrompon or mayor in the third thromde elections, only some 8,000 registered voters will participate.
And in Phuentshogling, the country’s commercial hub, there are some 932 registered voters. They will choose a Thrompon to steer the town’s development on behalf of more than 25,000 urban population.
Similarly, Gelegphu Thromde is a growing town with a population of around 8,000 people. The number of registered voters stands at a little over 1,500.
This imbalance often has people asking – as a resident of a thromde, are our needs heard by the elected leaders? Are we represented adequately?
“Those who own houses in Phuentshogling do not have their census here. While those who have census here are living somewhere else. So I feel the Thrompon is just for some three to 400 people. It would be better if at least the house owners are allowed to vote,” said Gyem Sangay, a resident of Phuentshogling Thromde.
Sangay Wangdi, a resident of Gelegphu Thromde said since residents are aware of the town’s need, “it would be beneficial if the government could work out a way and provide voting rights to those residents who have lived in a place for a long period.”
Similarly, another resident said the right candidate will be elected if people are allowed to vote based on residency. He said moreover, It will ensure equal opportunity for all.
“When it comes to local government election, even though many people are opposing, I feel that the residents should be allowed to vote. Now, how? We have to develop our standards. If you have lived in a particular settlement for a long time, I feel that you deserve voting right,” said Mehraj Adhikari, a resident of Thimphu.
Sangay Dorji from Khaling in Trashigang has been running a furniture house in Samdrup Jongkhar Thromde for a decade and a half. And all these years, he often felt the need for adequate drinking water supply and housing in the Thromde. If given the right to vote, he wants to elect a representative who would pledge to solve the problems.
“At the moment, although we run businesses here we do not have any right to elect the Thromde Tshogde members. We have to deal with them for almost everything so it would be better if we are allowed to vote. Since we haven’t elected them, we hesitate to approach them when we face a problem,” he said.
The UNDP’s Bhutan National Human Development Report – Ten Years of Democracy in Bhutan published in 2019 states that for urban communities, a decade of democracy highlighted the need for better representation. However, the electoral laws proved to be an obstacle to public involvement in urban planning and development.
As per the report, the majority of the respondents in urban areas maintained that “all people who work and live and are 18 years and above should participate and vote during the thromde elections.” But what does the law say? Article 23 section 2(c) of the Constitution states, “A person shall have the right to vote by direct adult suffrage through secret ballot at an election if the person is registered in the civil registry of that constituency for not less than one year, prior to the date of the election.”
This is also underlined in the Election Act. As per section 100 (b) of the act, “A person shall be entitled to be registered as a voter for a constituency if such a person is registered in the civil registry pertaining to that constituency and has his/her Gung or Mitsi in that place for not less than one year before the qualifying date.”
The Former Chief Election Commissioner, Dasho Kunzang Wangdi, says, merely being a resident of a thromde does not entitle anyone the right to vote in any election automatically in any country leave alone Bhutan.
“Mere residency under the laws cannot entitle some group of people to vote. If you allow that, unauthorised people will be given the responsibility to vote. This would, sometimes, mean not legally correct representation. So, the people with the legitimate right to vote and who have completed the formalities should vote and form the government,” Dasho said.
The book, The Constitution of Bhutan: Principles and Philosophies by former Chief Justice Lyonpo Sonam Tobgye states the one-year requirement in Article 23 section 2(c) is intended to prevent fraud and gerrymandering. Bhutan does not want a group of people migrating just for the sake of an election and thereby forgetting their sacred duty to serve the community, people and the country. The right to vote, the book reads, is not absolute.
But as much as the laws sound rigid, the Election Commission says they are accommodating. People can transfer their civil registry if they own a property in a Thromde and want to participate in the electoral processes.
“We know that there are so many people who have properties in the town. Many of them are reluctant to transfer their civil registration to the towns. But I think wherever their properties are or maybe some people might have properties everywhere, so wherever they are spending most of the time and where they are thinking of settling down, they could start transferring,” said Phub Dorji, the Head of the Department of Civic and Electoral Education with the ECB.
He said the ECB is willing to facilitate the transfer of civil registry if people are willing. However, so far, no one approached the Commission.
For now, the questions the residents have posed are valid. There are equally reasonable justifications to counter. So, what course will this longstanding issue take as Bhutan’s democratic values mature? Well, this is something only time will reveal.
Sonam Wangdi
