Bhutanese become reluctant voters
Published: March 22, 2008 at 1:20 AM
THIMPHU, Bhutan, March 22 (UPI) -- Citizens of Bhutan are reluctantly preparing to vote in their first national election under orders from a king who prefers constitutional monarchy.
The vote for parliamentary representatives is scheduled for Monday.
"We are reluctant democrats," Sonam Tobgay Dorji, a candidate for parliament, told the Los Angeles Times. "It's been forced on us, and we have to embrace it."
Bhutan, a country in the Himalayas twice the size of Vermont, has about 700,000 people. It has been ruled for more than a century by the Golden Throne, currently occupied by Jigme Singye Wangchuck.
The two new parties -- Druk Phuensum Tshogpa, or DPT, and the People's Democratic Party, or PDP -- have been campaigning mostly with promises for more roads and better services. The campaign has been tightly regulated.
"Bhutanese politics is still without ideology," said Sonam Tobgay Dorji, a PDP candidate with a Harvard degree. "So basically, what people are looking at is what candidates can deliver."
The vote for parliamentary representatives is scheduled for Monday.
"We are reluctant democrats," Sonam Tobgay Dorji, a candidate for parliament, told the Los Angeles Times. "It's been forced on us, and we have to embrace it."
Bhutan, a country in the Himalayas twice the size of Vermont, has about 700,000 people. It has been ruled for more than a century by the Golden Throne, currently occupied by Jigme Singye Wangchuck.
The two new parties -- Druk Phuensum Tshogpa, or DPT, and the People's Democratic Party, or PDP -- have been campaigning mostly with promises for more roads and better services. The campaign has been tightly regulated.
"Bhutanese politics is still without ideology," said Sonam Tobgay Dorji, a PDP candidate with a Harvard degree. "So basically, what people are looking at is what candidates can deliver."
© 2008 United Press International. All Rights Reserved.
This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.
This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.
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