The Bhutanese Leading the way.
Mongar chose Sonam Pelzom from Dramangling village in Tsamang gewog as their National Council member in the Third Parliamentary Election, National Council.
While some believe that Sonam Pelzom won because she was the only woman candidate among 12 male candidates, still there are others who say she won because she worked hard during common forum and door-to-door campaign.
A few people said she won because of luck and sympathy factors. However, a majority of the people stated she won because she worked hard and she can perform better.
The incumbent Sonam Wangchuk simply put it as, “She won because people voted for her and the candidate with highest number of votes wins.”
A former member of NC from 2008 till 2012, Naichu, said, “She worked very hard and met many people in 17 gewogs.”
Ugyen Tshering, also a candidate from Mongar, said, “During door-to- door campaign, the candidates came across women and there were only few men because most men went out for work and returned home late. Even on poll day, there were more women voters.”
Another candidate, Jamyang Loday, said, “Sonam Pelzom being the only woman candidate against 12 male candidates decided her victory. And despite having 12 male candidates, people voted for her because people understand that even a woman can be a good leader, and people saw her dedication and hard work during common forum and familiarization visits to 17 gewogs.”
A teacher, Tshering Phuntsho, said, “She won because of sympathy and maybe luck. In addition, her husband was also from Mongar which helped her garner more supporters.”
Yeshi Lhendup, a candidate from Mongar, shared the same opinion. He said, “While acknowledging that she worked really hard, the votes she received was sympathy votes, as her parent passed away and she brought along her son in all the 17 gewogs during the common forum.”
Sonam Pelzom said, “People voted for me because they believed in me, trusted me and saw their hopes in me. Besides understanding the importance of women representation, in the decision making process, people made a right choice based on my pledges.”
Sonam Pelzom secured the highest votes from Postal Ballot and Electro Voting Machine (EVM). She secured 1,394 votes from EVM and 1,012 from Postal Ballot.
Many have hailed Sonam Pelzom’s win as being important for women participation in politics. She is the only other female NC winner apart from Lhaki Dolma in Punakha.
