Facebook strikes

June 2, 2011Posted inDemocracy, Justice13 Comments
After several friends suggested it, I’ve added a new page called “News clips”. The idea is to provide links to news articles, especially to critical ones, that talk about what the opposition party and I have been doing. The first link is to a story by Kuensel. It’s about the growing influence of social media in Bhutan, a discussion that took place during the recent Mountain Echoes literary festival. Social media has already made remarkable inroads in Bhutan. In past five years, there’s been a proliferation of discussion forums, social networking sites and blogs. And some of them –…

Asking questions

May 25, 2011Posted inDemocracy19 Comments
About a month ago, I posted the question on Facebook that asked: “What should the National Assembly discuss during the coming session?” A whopping 1366 of my “friends” voted on the 73 answers they generated themselves. This morning the situation looked like this: The top five answers, as you can see, are the Tobacco Act, corruption, disaster management, jobs and sports. But there are many other suggestions. They include citizenship, social security national security, agriculture, irrigation; health, music, alcohol, FDI, BCSR, PCS and DSA. One enlightened friend suggested that we discuss “How to liberate people from suffering”. And another…

Royal Kasho on LG elections

May 4, 2011Posted inDemocracy19 Comments
The Prime Minister, on behalf of the National Council, National Assembly and two political parties, has brought before me the issue of the candidates disqualified from participating in Local Government elections. The 90 disqualified candidates have also jointly submitted an appeal on the same issue. The members of the National Council have submitted their concerns on the relaxation of the one-year mitsi requirement for candidates in Local Government elections. As King, it is my duty at all times, to examine not just the issue at hand, but to also contemplate the long term effect of any decision on the…

Breaking the law?

May 2, 2011Posted inDemocracy12 Comments
210 candidates have been disqualified from taking part in the local government elections. These candidates, all of whom had been members of a political party, were disqualified as it has not yet been one year since they resigned from their respective political parties. Actually all of them had resigned from their political parties more than a year ago. All of them were automatically deemed to have resigned as far back as 2008 when they did not renew their memberships with their respective parties. But Section 206 of the Election Act requires that any resignation or removal from a party…

Right to choose

April 21, 2011Posted inDemocracy
The Chief Election Commissioner has released a pamphlet "... to share a few concerns of the Election Commission and clarify certain issues" The Election Commission requests all of us to forward and redistribute their pamphlet to other Bhutanese.      

Opposing corruption

April 19, 2011Posted inDemocracy28 Comments
“guardian” entered three comments on my last post. All three were on corruption. In the first comment, “guardian” complained that I hadn’t given any attention to this important issue: OL simply needs to get his priorities right. When there are so many cases of corruption in the country, OL has not even raised his voice once. I suspect that somehow if he does that, he will find more PDP supporters who are behind all these corrupt practices. In the second comment, “guardian” laments that no one seems to be doing any thing about the malaise spreading through our society:…

Election lessons

January 24, 2011Posted inDemocracy
Congratulations to the newly elected thrompons of Gelephu, Phuentsholing, Samdrupjongkhar and Thimphu thromdes. Congratulations also to the elected tshogpas of the four thromdes. The elections of the four thromde tshogdes (city councils) represent the first local government elections held under the auspices of the Constitution. So, the elections also underscore Bhutan’s determined journey to a democracy. Congratulations are also in order to the Chief Election Commissioner and his staff. The ECB team conducted another round of efficient elections – methodically and meticulously – notwithstanding the protest on their decision to waive off the rule requiring candidates to be registered…

No blank cheque!

December 22, 2010Posted inDemocracy, Government15 Comments
Business Bhutan recently reported that the prime minister had expressed his frustrations over interpretations of the constitution that were undermining the government’s work. The PM was quoted as saying: I feel very emotional because we are the democratically elected government with a huge majority which means people have placed their trust fully in us but every time we want to do something the book is being thrown at us. Our PM is correct. 67% of the electorate voted for DPT, and gave them, the ruling party, 45 of the 47 seats in the National Assembly. Yes, the government was…

Felicitating the Judiciary

November 22, 2010Posted inDemocracy, Justice
The High Court has rendered judgment on Bhutan’s first constitutional case. The esteemed Court ruled that the taxes imposed by the government earlier this year are unlawful, and ordered the government to refund those taxes. The Court also issued an injunction preventing the government from raising taxes without the Parliament’s approval. The High Court’s landmark verdict has been hailed as a victory for the opposition party. And the opposition has received numerous congratulatory messages. We are duly humbled. And grateful for the good wishes. But, the felicitations are misguided. The Court’s verdict, in fact, is not a victory for…

A voting matter

October 22, 2010Posted inDemocracy
India’s electronic voting machines have come under some scrutiny by the media, civil society, politicians and voters. Since we use the same voting machines, our chief election commissioner, Dasho Kunzang Wangdi, clarified that the recent questions surrounding the integrity of the EVMs are: … nothing to worry about. “I’m not concerned because I’ve seen many EVMs and the Indian EVMs are the best,” he said, adding that he had inspected various EVMs at an international conference in Philippines, where international vendors showcased technology during an exhibition at the election technology conference. “We have no reason to be concerned.” The…

Answering Sonam

May 24, 2010Posted inCulture, Democracy
Sonam’s question generated a good deal of discussions. And, most of you argued that we, elected officials – ministers and MPs alike – should not wear our kabneys and patangs after completing our terms in office. Similarly, almost all of you who took the poll that asked, “Should elected MPs and ministers continue to wear their "kabneys" after their terms in office?” voted against the idea. A resounding 220 of you said “NO”; only 18 said “YES”. I agree with the majority. But should we, in fact, take it still further? Should we do away with colour-coded kabneys and…

Visiting Sombaykha

January 10, 2010Posted inDemocracy
“It must be very difficult”, I’ve been told more than once, “having only two members in the opposition.” Yes, it is difficult. And frustrating. But it is enjoyable too. What do I enjoy most about my work? Visiting my constituency. Trekking through Sombaykha, Gakiling and the parts of Samma that don’t have motor roads are a highlight of my work as an MP. And I never tire of meeting the people I that represent – simple folks living mainly off subsistence farming. I am in Sombaykha. This time, my visit will take me through every village in Sombaykha, over…

Hijacking democracy

December 18, 2009Posted inDemocracy, Government
BBS reports that the Prime Minister, in his National Day address in Mongar, cautioned the people about threats to our democracy. On democracy, the Prime Minister said the threats to democracy are mainly from within, reminding the people to be aware of divisive politics for personal gain. He said in many countries in the world, democracy has been hijacked by people who seek power and privilege. I agree with our Prime Minister. I agree with him one hundred percent. We must never allow our democracy to be hijacked by people who seek power and privilege!

Paying attention

October 23, 2009Posted inDemocracy, Monarchy
When did you first know that democracy would be introduced in our country? That was the question I asked in my last entry. No one ventured a definite date. One reader, however, admitted that it was a “tough question” while others questioned the relevance and importance of the question. Relevant or not, I think I first knew about plans to introduce democracy in our country only in 2004. On 17th December that year, in Mongar, His Majesty the Fourth Druk Gyalpo had commanded that: “The highest importance was also attached to the establishment of parliamentary democracy and a system…