EDITORIAL

Bhutan is blessed

One big takeaway from the 2018 elections is that Bhutanese voters have a high level of anti-incumbency and set very high standards for our politicians. An external observer may wonder why Bhutanese voters set such high standards for their politicians, especially in a young democracy. The answer is close to …

Read More »

The priorities

The 2018 electoral process has been a hard fought one but ultimately the people have spoken and DNT is in the ruling party with 30 seats and DPT in the Opposition party with 17 seats. The new ruling party will be low on governance experience like PDP in 2013, but …

Read More »

Bhutanese politics

As 18th October approaches, it is really anyone’s game in the contest between the DNT and DPT. However, whoever wins the contest, it will be of utmost importance for both the political parties to work together to unite the nation and the people. The three NA elections so far have …

Read More »

The Siliguri eye opener

The case of around 600 Bhutanese youth lured into a Ponzi scheme in Siliguri disguised as an assured employment scheme is revealing, and tells us where our priorities should lie. Most of these youth, though they are educated, are from poor and disadvantaged backgrounds and are primarily from rural areas. …

Read More »

A bright side to the primary results

After the 2013 general elections, there was much bitterness and anger among DPT supporters on losing. Complicated by external developments in the form of LGP and kerosene prices increases there was an almost religious belief among DPT supporters that the 2013 elections were never fair or that the whole thing …

Read More »

Grace and unity

As soon as the results of a win started pouring in, the social media started seeing victorious supporters not only celebrating loudly but also issuing open taunts and threats to supporters and perceived supporters of other parties. There were promises to shut down companies and ‘fix people’, as supporters on …

Read More »

Bhutan and the Monarchy

Before Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyel’s arrival in 1616, Bhutan was divided into different valleys and areas held by competing chiefs and temporal rulers. Bhutan only became a coherent and united political entity after this and, even then, soon after Shabdrung’s passing away, local power centers took over again with regional lords …

Read More »

Interim Bardo

Every five years Bhutan loses an important three months in the interim government period when a largely symbolic government is in place and decisions are frozen at various levels. Developmental and economic activities are either stopped or slow down and only the most essential work is done. In the civil …

Read More »

Election fever

Despite some controversies and the occasional chest beating, elections in Bhutan are free and fair and very peaceful compared to the neighborhood. However, the issue is not so much with the process which is accredited and praised by international observers, but on the energies and forces that it unleashes among …

Read More »

Countering fake news

Bhutan currently has around 400,000 Facebook accounts according to Facebook which gives this estimated figure to those who want to use its platform for online advertisement in Bhutan. This not only dwarfs all other social media platforms but also makes facebook the largest and most powerful media outlet in Bhutan, …

Read More »