Bhutan's First Democratic Elections (2007-2008)

Bhutan's first democratic elections, held between December 2007 and March 2008, marked the peaceful transformation of one of the world's last absolute monarchies into a constitutional democracy. The transition was initiated not by popular revolution or external pressure but by the deliberate decision of the Fourth Druk Gyalpo, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, who had spent years preparing the country for democratic governance. The elections gave Bhutan a bicameral parliament for the first time, with a non-partisan National Council (upper house) elected on 31 December 2007 and a partisan National Assembly (lower house) elected on 24 March 2008.^[1]

The transition was remarkable for its paradoxical character: the Bhutanese public, by most accounts, did not want democracy. Many citizens expressed satisfaction with monarchical rule and viewed the move to elections with apprehension rather than enthusiasm. The king had to convince his own people that democracy was in their long-term interest, arguing that the country could not depend indefinitely on the quality of its monarchs. In December 2006, King Jigme Singye Wangchuck abdicated in favour of his son, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, to ensure that the democratic transition would proceed under a new generation of leadership.^[2]

The elections were conducted under the supervision of the Election Commission of Bhutan, established in 2006, and proceeded smoothly despite the country's mountainous terrain, scattered population, and the complete absence of any prior democratic experience.

Background: The Royal Vision for Democracy

The seeds of Bhutan's democratic transition were sown in the 1990s, when the Fourth King began devolving executive authority. In 1998, he dissolved the cabinet and transferred full executive power to an elected Council of Ministers, making the cabinet accountable to the National Assembly. On 4 September 2001, the King formally announced the need to draft a written constitution for Bhutan — the country's first — declaring that a constitution would safeguard the nation's future more reliably than the goodwill of any individual monarch. On 30 November 2001, he inaugurated a 39-member Constitution Drafting Committee, chaired by the Chief Justice of Bhutan, Lyonpo Sonam Tobgye, with representatives from the government, the judiciary, the monastic body and civil society. Successive drafts were circulated to all twenty dzongkhags for public consultation, and the King personally travelled across the country to explain the draft and gather feedback.^[5]

On 17 December 2005, during his National Day address, the Fourth King issued a Royal Kasho formally announcing that Bhutan would hold its first democratic elections in 2008. The announcement was met with considerable public unease, as many Bhutanese, satisfied with the monarchy's governance and the country's record of stability and development, were reluctant to embrace change.

Mock Elections (April 2007)

In preparation for the actual elections, the Election Commission organised a nationwide mock election on 21 April 2007. This unprecedented exercise was designed to familiarise the Bhutanese population with the mechanics of voting — ballot papers, polling stations, electronic voting machines — in a country where most citizens had never cast a vote in their lives.

The mock election was held in all 47 National Assembly constituencies at 869 polling stations, with approximately 1,000 voters at each station. Four fictional parties were placed on the ballot: Druk Blue, Druk Green, Druk Red, and Druk Yellow, each representing a different development platform. The Druk Yellow party, which promised economic development and industrial growth, swept the vote and won 46 of the 47 constituencies.^[3]

The mock election served its educational purpose but also revealed some concerning patterns. Many voters appeared to have based their choices on the colour of the party rather than its platform, and some communities voted as blocs following the direction of local leaders. Election officials used these observations to refine voter education programmes ahead of the real elections.

National Council Elections (December 2007)

The first phase of Bhutan's democratic elections was the vote for the National Council (Gyelyong Tshogde), the upper house of the new bicameral parliament. Elections were held on 31 December 2007 for 20 of the 25 seats on the Council — one representative from each of Bhutan's 20 districts (dzongkhags). The remaining five seats were to be appointed by the king.

National Council elections were conducted on a non-partisan basis, meaning candidates stood as individuals rather than party representatives. This design was intended to create a chamber of review that would provide a check on the partisan politics of the lower house. Candidates were required to hold a university degree, a provision that significantly narrowed the pool of eligible contenders in a country where higher education remained relatively rare. Voter turnout was approximately 53 percent of the 312,817 eligible voters. The election proceeded peacefully and was declared free and fair by domestic and international observers.^[3]

National Assembly Elections (March 2008)

The main event — the election for the National Assembly (Tshogdu), the lower house and the chamber from which the government would be formed — took place on 24 March 2008. The Election Commission had registered only two parties to contest the election:

Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) — led by Jigme Yoser Thinley, a veteran civil servant who had previously served as prime minister under the rotational system of the monarchical government. The DPT was formed from the merger of the Bhutan People's United Party and the All People's Party.
People's Democratic Party (PDP) — led by Sangay Ngedup, an uncle of the reigning king, who had served as minister of health and education.

The DPT Landslide

Pre-election analysis had anticipated a close race between the two parties. The actual result was a decisive landslide: the DPT won 45 of the 47 National Assembly seats, while the PDP secured only 2. The DPT received approximately 67 percent of the popular vote to the PDP's 33 percent. Voter turnout was high, with nearly 80 percent of the 320,000 registered voters casting ballots.^[1]

The scale of the DPT victory surprised many observers. Several factors contributed to the landslide:

The DPT was widely perceived as the more "royalist" of the two parties, and in a country where the monarchy was deeply revered, this perception carried significant weight.
Jigme Thinley was seen as a more experienced candidate with stronger ties to the establishment.
Bhutan's first-past-the-post electoral system amplified the DPT's popular vote advantage into an overwhelming seat majority.

PDP leader Sangay Ngedup lost his own constituency by 380 votes, an outcome that underscored the completeness of the DPT's victory.^[1]

Jigme Thinley as First Elected Prime Minister

Following the DPT's victory, Jigme Yoser Thinley was sworn in as Bhutan's first democratically elected Prime Minister on 9 April 2008. He had previously served as prime minister under the rotational system instituted by King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, but his 2008 appointment marked the first time a Bhutanese head of government held office through a popular electoral mandate. Thinley served as Prime Minister until 2013, when the PDP won the second general election in an upset result that demonstrated the maturing of Bhutanese democracy.^[4]

International Reaction

The elections drew widespread international praise. Observers noted the peaceful and orderly conduct of the vote, the high turnout, and the historic significance of a voluntary monarchical transition to democracy. India, which had supported Bhutan's development for decades, welcomed the elections as a sign of the country's political maturation. The United Nations and various international organisations commended Bhutan for the smoothness of its democratic transition.

Significance

Bhutan's first democratic elections were historically significant for several reasons. They demonstrated that democratic transitions need not originate from popular upheaval or external imposition — they can be led from above by a monarch willing to cede power. They also tested whether a country with no democratic tradition, high illiteracy rates, and a deeply hierarchical social structure could conduct free and fair elections, a test that Bhutan passed convincingly. The elections provided the democratic legitimacy that enabled the formal adoption of the Constitution of Bhutan on 18 July 2008, completing the country's transformation into a constitutional monarchy.