Former Trongsa MP had voluntarily resigned amid ongoing appeal in Supreme Court

Candidates from BTP and PDP to run for Bye-Election on 4th September

Following his ongoing appeal to the Supreme Court in a child molestation case, the former Member of Parliament (MP) from Nubi-Tangsibji constituency, Tashi Dorji, handed in his voluntary resignation letter to the National Assembly on 30th June 2025. The resignation was formally accepted and forwarded to the Election Commission of Bhutan (ECB) to facilitate a bye-election.

Tashi Dorji is currently detained following his conviction by the High Court on 2nd June 2025 and awaits the Supreme Court’s hearing. The High Court upheld the 10th April 2025 judgment of the Trongsa Dzongkhag Court, sentencing him to three years, three months, and 21 days for sexually molesting a 14-year-old girl on 4th September 2022. At the time of the incident, he was serving as a Gewog Administration Officer in Trongsa.

He further appealed the conviction to the Supreme Court on 4th June 2025 citing inconsistencies in the victim’s and witnesses’ testimonies, a claim that the High Court had dismissed while affirming the lower court’s verdict.

With the seat now vacant, the ECB has announced a bye-election for the Nubi-Tangsibji constituency that is scheduled for 4th September 2025.

Phuntsho Dhendup (38) of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Tashi Samdrup (53) of the Bhutan Tendrel Party (BTP) will contest the bye-election.

Tashi Samdrup has previously served as a MP in the National Council of Bhutan during the Third Parliament of Bhutan. He holds a Master of Science in Mountain Forestry from the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences in Austria.

Meanwhile, Phuntsho Dhendup has background in finance and entrepreneurship. He formerly worked as Branch Manager of the Bhutan Development Bank Limited (BDBL) in Trongsa. Additionally, he also ventured into entrepreneurship and business.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (Finance) from Gaeddu College of Business Studies.

According to the ECB, the bye-election is being conducted in line with Sections 577 and 579 of the Election Act of the Kingdom of Bhutan 2008.

Section 577 states, “The Election Commission shall, when the seat of a member elected to any House of Parliament becomes vacant on death or resignation or his/her election to the House is declared void, issue a notification calling upon the constituency concerned to elect a person for filling the vacancy.”

Section 579 states, “A bye-election for filling any vacancy to Parliament shall be held within a period of ninety days from the date of the occurrence of the vacancy.”

The deadline for filing nominations is 26th July 2025. Both candidates have been officially nominated ahead of the deadline.

Polling, counting of votes, and postal ballot processing will take place on the same day on 4th September 2025.