The Bhutanese Leading the way.
With the upcoming 4th National Assembly Elections 2023-24, a total of 1,618 (Electronic Voting Machine) EVMs will be used at 809 polling stations during the Primary Round which is on 30 November 2023.
The voting time shall be from 8 am to 4 pm on the Poll Days for both the Primary Round on 30 November 2023 and General Elections which will be held on 9 January 2024.
The Election Commission of Bhutan (ECB) also has an adequate number of standby EVMs for use in the event of emergencies.
Voters should go to their designated polling stations in their constituency to vote. Such voters can confirm their polling stations by visiting ECB website where they have provided with a link related to it.
The eligible voters who have opted to vote via Postal Ballots (PB) must vote through PB.
Any Bhutanese who has attained the age of 18 years and above on the qualifying date can enroll in the electoral roll of a particular constituency. Unlike past year, where individuals need to possess voter card to cast their vote, ECB has made the flexibility of voting with Citizenship Identity Card (CID) only.
On the Poll Day, voters must check their identity by producing a new Voter Photo Identity Copy (VPIC) and name and serial number. If not challenged, they can approach a second polling officer who registers them and marks their finger with indelible ink.
They then take a signed voter slip and press the ‘ballot button’ of the EVM to cast their vote. The EVM registers only one vote for each voter, and when a grey button is pressed, a red lamp glows against the chosen party symbol, and a ‘beep sound’ is heard, indicating that voting is complete.
Persons with disability who are not able to go to their respective polling stations will be facilitated under the provision of ‘Special Early Voting’ from 23-25 November 2023. This is currently happening in all the 20 Dzongkhags.
National Observers are appointed by ECB from the pool of civil servants. The National Observers are responsible for overseeing the conduct of elections during the entire election period.
After the closure of the poll on 30 November for the Primary Round, and on 9th January 2024 for the General Elections, ECB shall share the provisional results through the media on the same day.
As required by the law, the formal declaration of the result will be made on the next day via a press release.
