Bhutan Elections: As Economic Woes Hit National Happiness, Voters Cast Ballots

Which political parties are in the fray? What are the issues that have taken centre stage? The Quint explains.

After general elections in Bangladesh over the weekend – which saw Sheikh Hasina return to power for the fourth consecutive term – another South Asian country and India's neighbour, Bhutan, is holding its fourth parliamentary elections on Tuesday, 9 January.

Voters in Bhutan began casting votes as polls opened at 8 am local time (and will go on till 5 pm) for the elections to the National Assembly, the 47-seat lower house of Bhutan's bicameral legislature.

The Buddhist kingdom, which benchmarks itself on happiness instead of economic growth, held its first democratic elections in 2008 post the end of absolute monarchy. From just two political parties during the first elections, the number in this election went up to five. In November 2023, the country voted in the primary round of elections – and two political parties qualified for the runoff round, taking place on 9 January.

However, the elections come at a time when South Asia's youngest democracy, with a population of little less than 800,000, is facing serious economic challenges, calling into question its longstanding policy of prioritising 'Gross National Happiness' over economic growth.

So, which are the two parties in the fray? What are the issues that have taken centre stage this election? The Quint explains.

Which Parties are in the Fray?

Bhutan has in place a two-phase election system.

The two parties that have qualified for the runoff round after the primary phase held in November 2023 are the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the Bhutan Tendrel Party (BTP).

While the PDP is one of the oldest parties (founded in 2007) and is led by former prime minister Tshering Tobgay, who's known for his pro-India stance, the BTP is one of the youngest. The latter was reportedly formed in November 2022 by Dasho Pema Chewang, former secretary of the National Land Commission of Bhutan.

The PDP received the highest number of votes in the preliminary round of the election, followed by the BTP, the Election Commission of Bhutan said on 1 December 2023, according to Reuters, following which the commission the parties "to formally nominate one candidate each in all the 47 National Assembly constituencies" for the final round of voting.

The other three parties, which were eliminated after the primary phase, are the Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT), the Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa (DNT), and the Druk Thuendrel Tshogpa (DTT).

The Druk Phuensum Tshogpa, which translates to Bhutan Peace and Prosperity Party, had won the first parliamentary elections held in 2008.

The DNT, meanwhile, is the current ruling party which caused an upset in 2018 by ensuring that the then-incumbent PDP did not even get to the final round of the elections. It won 30 out of the 47 seats in the National Assembly. In the primary phase of voting, the DNT, headed by outgoing prime minister Dr Lotay Tshering, had finished fourth, according to Reuters.

Like the BTP, the DTT is among the youngest political parties in Bhutan.

What are the Main Issues?

There are three broad economic issues in Bhutan as voters cast their ballots – unemployment, brain drain, and a weak economy. Both parties in the runoff stage – the PDP and the BTP – share similar views on these issues. For one, the two parties say more investment is needed to boost the Himalayan kingdom's $3 billion economy, according to Reuters.

As an editorial in the Bhutanese newspaper Kuensel noted in November 2023:

“All parties highlighted reviving peljore (economy), pronounced as Panjo, making it the most talked about during the campaign period, including providing content for social media memes."

"Our economy is not the healthiest since the COVID-19 pandemic. The emigration and brain drain issue, lack of fuel for private sector growth, and an economic slowdown captured the public attention. There are expectations that a new government or the change in global and local scenarios could lead to improved economic growth. For the people, even if Gross National Happiness is the guiding development philosophy, an economic setback can cause panic and doubt. Many are convinced that the rest of the priorities are taken care of if the economy is on the right track," the editorial noted.

Meanwhile, 58-year-old PDP chief Tobgay, too, sounded the alarm over Bhutan’s “unprecedented economic challenges and mass exodus”. Tobgay, who completed his secondary education from Kalimpong in West Bengal, told The Quint, "Government statistics show that one in every eight persons is struggling to meet their even basic needs for food.

As per the World Bank data, Bhutan's unemployment rate stands at 29 percent.

Bhutanese citizens are moving abroad, and especially to Australia, in search of better financial and educational opportunities.

According to a recent Reuters report, over 12,000 students from Bhutan (which is around 1.5 percent of the country’s population) migrated to Australia between June 2022 and May 2023. Apart from students, civil servants and healthcare professionals are increasingly migrating to Australia.

A report published in The Bhutanese last year pointed out that 1,488 civil servants resigned in 2022 compared to 892 in 2021.

Career civil servant Pema Chewang of the BTP told AFP Bhutan was losing the “cream of the nation”. “If this trend continues, we might be confronted with a situation of empty villages and a deserted nation,” the 56-year-old added.