The Bhutanese Leading the way.
Bhutan Kuen-Nyam Party lauded the precedence set by the Third Druk Gyalpo in forming the parliament in Bhutan in 1952 and said that forming the party and working towards a good democracy is a tribute to the ‘Father of Parliament’.
“Our Party is inspired by His Late Majesty the Third King who is popularly known as father of modern Bhutan but more importantly should also be known as the father of parliament- the Tshogdu,” said Sonam Tobgay, Interim President of BKP.
He said “The visionary introduction of parliament in Bhutan in 1952 in a country such as ours which was a land-locked country by the Third Druk Gyalpo truly makes him the father of parliament as today the flow of democracy is smooth. It is also the guidance of the Fourth Druk Gyalpo and His Majesty Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck”.
He also added in his speech that ‘with deep inner respect and loyalty, the party remains to be guided by the vast experience of Fourth Druk Gyalpo and the wisdom of His Majesty.
BKP is also all praises for the support and guidance of the Election Commission of Bhutan (ECB) and applauds the exemplary success in its conduct of the 2008 elections and the unblemished image of ECB as noted in the past European Union (EU) Report.
The party as a whole pledged and assured ECB that “BKP will be the most law-abiding political party, respecting and adhering to all electoral laws and in upholding the Constitution of the Kingdom of Bhutan”.
BKP now legitimized as a political party shares equal rights to that of Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) and People’s Democratic Party (PDP).Members of BKP pledged that as an institution they will work toward selfless commitment in nation building.
“But all these efforts are dismissible and insignificant comparing to what lies ahead of us. For all the hurdles since inception three years ago- the journey has proved worthwhile.”
And that is a shared sentiment among the BKP members.
Meanwhile, the Opposition Party Leader, Tshering Tobgay personally went to BKP’s office to offer PDP’s congratulations.
“It is good news, it is very good. I am very happy that the party got registered. Bhutanese people will have more choices, more political choices, which is also good for democracy and the people,” said Tshering Tobgay.
“All of us that have joined politics have participated with the intention of making positive contributions for the country with the only differences being in the approach towards the service of the nation and the people. We believe that BKP is formed with a similar objective as DCT. We wish the members of BKP the very best in striving towards meaningful contributions for Bhutanese democracy and for the people,” said DCT interim president, Lily Wangchhuk.
“It is a very good news for the new parties, it is very encouraging that the ECB is registering new parties and we hope that Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa (DNT) will as well get registered within a few weeks,” said General Secretary of DNT, Tandi Dorji.
Bhutan Kuen-Nyam Party will soon launch a ‘big number’ of candidates.
Puran Gurung / Thimphu
