Voting Starts in Bhutan’s General Elections

In Bhutan, people have begun voting in the final round of parliamentary elections. At various polling stations like in Damphu, vehicles and voters arrived from different parts of the country. Sudh Man, 65, traveled to Tsirang from Punakha District with family, emphasizing the importance of voting to support his favored party. The elections involve two main parties, PDP and BTP, competing across 47 constituencies, aiming to secure at least 24 to form a government. Earlier, a preliminary round saw PDP with 42.53% and BTP with 19.58% of votes. Over 6,000 officials, including security personnel, oversee 812 polling stations. The polls started at 8 a.m. and will close at 5 p.m. local time. With over 496,000 registered voters, around 126,000 have registered for postal ballots. Bhutan declared a no-campaign period 48 hours before polling, even on social media. Bhutan, a landlocked country with around 800,000 people, began holding elections in 2008, establishing a bicameral parliament under the reign of King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck.