Skip to main content

Bhutan's Second Thromde Election and its e-Waste

Photo Courtesy: Kuensel
As it had announced earlier, the Election Commission of Bhutan (ECB) successfully conducted the Second Thromde elections in Thimphu, Phuentsholing and Gelephu on January 25, 2016. Two Thromdes of Gelephu and Phuentsholing elected new thrompons while Thimphu managed to retain their first. 

Unlike in the past not many candidates contested this election. As a result voting had to be carried out by asking people to press either "Yes" or "No" on Electronic Voting Machines (EVM). Moreover, voter turnout trend is unsatisfactory.  

Many representatives were fruitfully elected this time. However, two lone candidates in Phuentsholing Thromde election were voted out. Tirtha Maya Mongar of Pekarzhing Demkhong secured 62 'yeses' and 64 'no' votes. Likewise, Rinchending constituency's Tshogpa candidate Tshering Wangdi had received support from only 19 voters while 36 were against him. I feel sorry for the two candidates. Such a pity that their voters fielded no candidates against them and yet voted them "No". Or did the voters accidentally press the wrong buttons on the EVMs? 

From Election Commission of Bhutan Notification
It is a sheer waste. I call it e-waste. It is a waste that results from elections that have gone wrong. It is a waste of human resources for it takes more than money to conduct these elections. It is a waste of people's time and energy. Business houses have to be closed to allow free and fair elections. It means losses to these establishments. 

According to the ECB "Elections in the vacant Demkhongs shall be undertaken in [the] due course of time." I am curious - can the two candidates recontest in the re-elections? What if they not only contest in the reelection but win the elections? It will be interesting to wait and watch!  

So, how do we avoid such e-wastes? This is because we are going to have many elections in future where we would be unable to elect the required representatives. If people do not support a candidate, it is only proper that they field in a candidate that they would support and vote in. Isn't it a crazy idea to go to the polling station and vote "No"? That's an exercise in vain and defeats the whole purpose of going there.
Labels:

Comments

  1. Twilight ManJanuary 28, 2016 at 3:49 PM

    I am not sure how this voting would justify its accuracy as we still use the traditional paper ballots. The problem is corruption and cheating still exists, so rigging the electronic results is easiest.
    Our candidates also had to use money to lure people just to turn up to cast their votes. The world is getting sick to the core these days. So much killings as well and many become homeless victims. Sad.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

So what do you think?

Popular posts from this blog

Utpal Academy - Bhutan's first All-girls High School

Academic Block Welcome to Bhutan’s first all-girls school. Isn’t that wonderful news to all our parents? Certainly, as a parent of a one-year old daughter I am excited about the coming of a school exclusively dedicated to the needs of girls. Our girls need special treatment, which we can for sure entrust the responsibility to Utal Academy, Paro. Dinning Hall I really like the name – Utpal – in Buddhist world, Utpal is another name for lotus flower, which is believed to grow from mud and yet blossoms into a beautiful and majestic flower. It stands for purity and many deities are depicted holding flower Utpal, more prominently Jestusn Dolma, the Goddess Tara. Symbolically, it also stands for the transformation of our girls. What an apt name for the school! Hostel Room The Principal’s message posted on the academy’s website promises providing our young women an “opportunity to participate fully in a wide range of extracurricular activities to develop skills and qualities that
9 comments
Read more...

Community of Bhutanese Bloggers Conceived

And finally it happened. I must say that it was by far the most attended Bloggers Meet. In the past we had bloggers agree to attend and cancel at the very last minute. But on June 24, 2015 – almost 100% of bloggers, who confirmed came. I would like to thank everyone for keeping his/her words, especially those who had to come all the way from Wangdue or Paro. Thank you! 35 Bhutanese bloggers met in Thimphu. We were honored to have the presence of senior bloggers like Aue Yeshi Dorji and Dasho Sangay Khandu. The meeting assumed more significance because of their presence. Equally, we were happy to have many young bloggers in whom we see so much enthusiasm and potential. On top of many things that transpired during the Meet, one of the most significant outcomes was the unanimous decision reached to form a formal group of bloggers, a platform aimed at encouraging and inspiring more bloggers around the country. The members decided that we will call it Community of Bhutanese Blogger
16 comments
Read more...

When FIVE is more than FIVE HUNDRED

Bhutanese parents complain that our children are exposed to so much foreign content and that they might soon forget our own root. Some parents also feel that their children respond well and better to stories that have Bhutanese characters and places in them. That's why the need for more and better Bhutanese books in the market. And we have only a handful of people who are committed to making this happen although the financial return is almost none.   Bhutan can boast of not many writers. Here writing or publishing aspect of writing is an expensive hobby. In the first place, it is difficult to convince people to publish their writings and many leave it before they are halfway. Publishing is a complicated process. But here it is even more complicated since our publishers are not publishers in the real sense of the term. They would only 'publish' (print) school textbooks and in that they are only being wise - averting risks to their businesses.  Recently, the whole
17 comments
Read more...