The Bhutanese Leading the way.
Voters in Trongsa’s Nubi-Tangsibji constituency will soon choose their next representative, with a bye-election set for 4th September 2025. The contest follows a voluntary resignation of former MP Tashi Dorji following his conviction for child molestation. It has drawn two seasoned candidates, each bringing distinct experience and pledges to the fight for the seat in the remaining three years of the National Assembly term.
53-year-old Tashi Samdrup of the Bhutan Tendrel Party (BTP) and 40-year-old Phuntsho Dendup of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) are focusing their campaigns on delivering tangible results within the remaining three years of the National Assembly’s term.
Tashi Samdrup (BTP) shared that this bye-election is different as it comes after the National 13th Five-Year plans and budget have already been finalized.
“My main focus is the effective implementation of the 13th Five-Year plan. Similarly, block grants and small development program for dzongkhag and gewogs are all finalized. Project tied assistance are all national level projects. What is important now is to ensure the smooth implementation of the 13th Five-Year plans.”
He said that it is the Opposition’s primary role to ensure resources are allocated in a fair, equitable, transparent and accountable manner. He is committed to fulfilling this role and at the same time ensure Nubi-Tangsibji constituency gets its fair share of development.
“We will have just 3 years left to serve the people after this bye-election. In a time like this, we don’t need a quiet follower in the Parliament. You need a strong representative in the National Assembly who has experience making laws and understand the nuances of the reviewing policy. I have served for five years as a people’s representative in the National Council, and during my term, I didn’t wait for instructions. I have never sat silently. I have always spoken for the people and I will continue to do that if elected,” he added.
Furthermore, he said that being in opposition doesn’t mean that everything the government does will be opposed.
“You have seen me work and you have heard me speak. And now, I humbly ask for your vote- not because I promise more, but because I have delivered before,” he said.
Tashi Samdrup holds a BSc in Environmental Management from Van Hall Institute, Wageningen University (Netherlands) and an MSc in Mountain Forestry from BOKU University, Vienna (Austria).
From 2018 to 2023, he served as a Member of the National Council, chairing both the Foreign Relations Committee and the Natural Resources and Environment Committee.
Before joining National Council, he worked as a national consultant with the World Bank-supported projects under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, and with the FAO’s Social Forestry Division of Department of Forest and Park Services.
Phuntsho Dendup (PDP)’s central campaign pledge for this bye-election is improving road conditions across the constituency, ensuring year-round accessibility.
His pledges outline a comprehensive plan focusing on rural connectivity, livelihoods, essential services, and community well-being.
Key commitments include upgrading and blacktopping farm roads, improving gewog center roads, and building new roads and footpaths where needed.
“Agriculture will be supported through better market access, a potential food processing plant, farm shops, and measures to reduce human–wildlife conflict. Basic services will be enhanced with safe drinking water for all chiwogs, electrification of certain paddy fields, and new irrigation channels.”
In the health care and social welfare sector, his pledges include monthly mobile medical visits, door-to-door screenings with priority for seniors and people with disabilities, increased rural life insurance, and family support for a third child.
Education reforms will be established or upgrade schools based on need. Housing and land measures include subsidized loans for first-time homeowners and leasing government land to the landless. Community initiatives will support religious infrastructure and ensure every gewog has a functional pool vehicle.
He said that as a representative of a ruling party, if elected, he will serve everyone without discrimination.
“Roads are the most important priority so I am pledging to make them pliable in both winter and summer,” he says.
Phuntsho Dendup brings over a decade of financial and business experience. A BBA (Finance) graduate from Gaeddu College of Business Studies.
He served as the Branch Manager of Bhutan Development Bank Limited (BDBL) in Trongsa, where he promoted rural finance and supported local economic activities.
He later turned an entrepreneur, creating jobs and supporting local livelihoods through his own business ventures.
In 2018, he left his professional career contesting the general election under PDP.
Nubi-Tangsibji is no stranger to close races. In the 2023–24 general election, BTP’s Tashi Dorji won the seat with 1,629 votes (54%), while PDP’s Phuntsho Dendup secured 1,373 votes (46%).
