Bhutan
Description of Electoral System
According to the Draft Election Bill of 2008, the Bhutanese parliament will consist of a National Assembly with a maximum of 75 seats elected by popular vote, and a National Council with 25 members, where 20 are elected by popular vote and 5 appointed by the king (Druk Gyalpo).
Electoral Systems Snapshot
(Courtesy of International IDEA)
*Click on links for definitions
| Electoral System for National Legislature | FPTP |
| Type | Plurality/Majority |
| Tiers | 1 |
| Legislature Size (Directly elected, voting members) | 75,75 |
| Electoral System for President | - |
WANT MORE ELECTION-RELATED STATS FOR BHUTAN? Go to "election databases" on the left-hand menu of this page OR comparative data on the right-hand menu and choose your area of interest.
Most Recent Elections
(courtesy of wikipedia)
2008 General Elections
Bhutan held its first general election on 24 March 2008 for the National Assembly. Two parties have been registered by the Election Commission of Bhutan to contest the election: the Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT), which formed by the merger of the previously established Bhutan People's United Party and All People's Party which is led by the former prime minister Khandu Wangchuk, and the People's Democratic Party (PDP). The third political party, the Bhutan National Party (BNP), had its application for the registration canceled.
Previous Elections
Elections for 5 remaining dzongkhags scheduled to 29 January, 2008.
2007-2008 National Council Election
The general elections to the National Council of Bhutan, the upper house of the Parliament of Bhutan were held for the first time on 31 December 2007 for 15 Dzongkhags, though they were originally scheduled for 26 December 2007. The National Council of Bhutan will consist 25 members, out of which 20 members will be directly elected from 20 dzongkhags by 312,817 elegible voters, and five more will be nominated by the Druk Gyalpo (king). Nominations had to be filed by 27 November 2007, and the campaigning for 15 dzongkhags took place from 30 November 2007 until 31 December 2007.
The elections were not held in five dzongkhags, Thimphu, Trashiyangtse, Gasa, Haa and Lhuntse on December 31, 2007 since they either did not have any candidate or had only a single candidate till the last date for filing the nominations and the election rules state that there should be at least two candidates for each dzongkhag, otherwise the election will be postponed for that particular dzongkhag. The elections in these five dzongkhags will be held on January 29, 2008.
