Bhutan
The Kingdom of Bhutan exhibits mid-range performance across all four categories of the Global State of Democracy framework. It falls among the top 25 per cent of countries with regard to Local Democracy, Rule of Law, Absence of Corruption and Predictable Enforcement but is among the bottom 25 per cent in Freedom of Movement and Civic Engagement. Over the last five years, Bhutan has not experienced any notable shifts in performance levels. The country is small, landlocked and classified as lower-middle-income.
Since its top-down transition from an absolute to democratic constitutional monarchy in 2008, the country has seen steady but cautious improvements across most indicators of democratic performance. This is in line with the explicit governmental emphasis on social wellbeing over rapid growth: in lieu of traditional economic or social indicators for development, the government of Bhutan aims for the fulfilment of “Gross National Happiness,” (GNH) a holistic concept that combines the pursuits of cultural and ecological sustainability, equitable economic development, and good governance.
Composed as a hereditary monarchy since 1907, Bhutan began its democratic transition in 1998 and formally became a parliamentary democracy in 2008, when it held its first parliamentary elections and adopted a constitution. The process was initiated and overseen by King Jigme Singye Wangchuk until his abdication in 2006. The pivotal personal role of the king in the democratization process is widely-agreed upon by experts, with the driving motivation the desire to develop a modernist framework to ensure the survival of the region’s sole remaining Buddhist polity. Bhutan’s democratic institutions thus embed conservative Bhutanese tradition within an outwardly secular, liberal state, and its democracy has been able to largely meet the constitutional mandates and aspirations of a progressive, equitable and inclusive country.
Achieving this balance involved the suppression and synthesisation of competing cultural traditions, beginning with the royal government’s attempts to create a unified and universal Buddhist national identity in the 1970s. In the late 1980s, tensions over this “Bhutanization” process led over 100,000 Nepali-speaking Lhotsampas to flee or leave the country for economic or educational opportunities. The remaining Lhotsampa population numbers roughly 250,000, or a third of the country’s population, and enjoys nearly proportional representation in national and subnational government. Since democratization, the country has held four competitive multiparty elections (and four peaceful transition of power) contested on primarily socioeconomic issues with parties competing over the best technical program for sustainable economic growth and development. Increasing gender equality is a policy priority for the government, but much work remains to be done: only 15.2 per cent of members of parliament are women, and a 2017 survey found that more than half Bhutanese women thought domestic violence was justified under certain circumstances.
Moving forward, Bhutan will have to sustain its evolving democracy without being drawn into future Indian-Chinese conflicts and protecting its territorial integrity. Both countries’ militaries have operated within Bhutan’s borders without its permission in recent years, although Indian incursions have been in response to Chinese attempts to construct military and civilian infrastructure inside Bhutan. Despite being the only nation in the world with a credible claim to be “carbon negative”, the globalized consequences of climate change led the Asian Development Bank to estimate the cost of climate change-induced glacial melt and monsoon-related floods to amount to 4 per cent of GDP in 2030s.
Monthly Event Reports
January 2024 | Tshering Tobgay elected prime minister
Bhutan held the fourth parliamentary election in its democratic history on 9 January. Former Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay’s People’s Democratic Party (PDP) won 30 of the 47 National Assembly seats, with Bhutan Tendrel Party declared as the opposition party and securing 17 seats. Initially, five parties participated in the election, three of which were eliminated in the primary round held on 30 November 2023. Voter turnout decreased to 65.6 per cent from 71.46 per cent in the 2018 election. The drop coincides with the withdrawal of postal ballot facilities for Bhutanese residing overseas last year, as well as other cost-cutting measures such as reduced polling stations and officials amid post-pandemic economic considerations. The number of women elected decreased to two (4.3 per cent) from seven in the previous election. International observers praised the election for its free and fair conduct.
April 2023 | National Council elections held
Bhutan’s National Council (NC) elections were held on 20 April. Voter turnout was at a historic high of 54.64 per cent (compared to 54.29 per cent in the 2018 NC elections), despite concerns that postal ballot restrictions and the removal of postal ballot facilitation booths would negatively impact turnout. While experiencing a drop in voter participation between 2008-2013, voter turnout has increased gradually for each NC election cycle due to key electoral reforms introduced by the Election Commission. Overall, two out of ten contesting incumbents returned, with eighteen new members elected to the council. The election failed to advance women’s representation, with only one woman out of five aspiring candidates elected to the 20-member NC, compared to two women elected in the last 2018 NC election. Parties are now gearing up for the National Assembly elections expected to be held later this year.
March 2023 | Postal voting restrictions ahead of National Council election
Ahead of the parliamentary elections scheduled for 20 April 2023, the Election Commission of Bhutan (ECB) has declared it will only provide postal ballot services to eligible voters covered under Section 331 of the Election Act of Bhutan 2008. This excludes Bhutanese working in State Owned Enterprises, private companies and persons living abroad who are not registered, students and civil servants. ECB also declared that the system of voting through Postal Ballot Facilitation Booths (PBFB) is discontinued ahead of the upcoming election. As a result, those working in the private and corporate sectors residing in urban centres will have to incur time and travel costs to register votes at designated polling stations in their constituencies i.e., hometowns. Many fear the decision may result in lower voter turnout.
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GSoD Indices Data 2013-2022
Basic Information
Human Rights Treaties
Global State of Democracy Indices
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Factors of Democratic Performance Over Time
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