More than ever before, elections have become the talk of the town. With endless debates in office and discussion in clubs and gatherings, development agenda has slid down the ladder. It is either media making the elections bigger, Facebook and Twitter making it popular or anonymous blogging creating space to speak freely. Everything seems to be about elections – directly or indirectly.
But will there be any change in post-election Bhutan as we expect? How far the existing parties fared and how will the new ones do? If things don’t change, why do we need political parties campaigning and promising assurances every five years?
Democratic culture inherits the quintessence of competitive service delivery. We accepted democracy because we expected faster change. No one can measure whether expectation of the Bhutanese populace is rising faster or parties working slower. We have observed mismatch between expectation and deliveries in the last five years.
Parties have began their election campaigns unofficially. Assurances are already afloat with what they want to do in the next five years. The Opposition is building its team across the districts by revamping its closed and dysfunctional offices. The question is whether the party is economically capable of sustaining those offices and for how long?
Prime Minister JYT who spent a lot of time overseas, being a GNH hero during this first term has now come back to the villages. In disguise to oversee the development projects, conduct review on how districts are doing, meeting people to see if they are happy with development activities and give instructions to the government agencies and departments to carry out duties effectively, PM JYT has designed a clever mission to collect votes.
There are no legal grounds to object his district tours. Being head of the government, he has the right and the obligation to visit and monitor activities. A Prime Minister who spent weeks abroad when the country was badly hit by natural calamities and other emergencies cannot find any good reasons to travel to the districts at this time of the year other than to see development activities.
Lets get back to his position around a year-and-half ago. He opposed the visit of Opposition Leader to districts and alleged Tshering Tobgay of carrying out silent political campaigns. Opposition has an obligation to balance the government and thus, acquires rights to travel to the districts just like the PM.
Recently PM has been literarily living in our villages. It is neither the time to review five-year plans nor the five-year tenure of the first elected government. It is certainly an effort to influence the ground situation. Other ministers and DPT MPs also have become active.
On the other side, the newly established parties are working lazily. The preparations are in mess. Though the constitution prohibits any political campaign before election dates are announced, there is no clear definition about what a political campaign is. It is not a campaign but new parties are reaching out to its cadres and supporters in the districts and villages trying to chart out its support base, train its campaign guns and feeling the sentiments of the people. If PM and the Opposition have the right to interact with people on development activities, so do the other parties who are, in principle, equally concerned about the country and its people.
The hotels and luxury sofas in Thimphu cannot formulate strategies and agenda for poor villagers, the voters. They must talk to the people through their local representatives to learn what common mass is looking for.
The new parties must tell the people the truth about the corrupt guns of the ruling party. They are liable for any blunder committed. If they failed to appropriately disseminate information of what went wrong in the last five years, why public expectation were not met – the ruling party did not make adequate effort to build a stronger foundation for democracy, open society and free expression.
That’s not the end. The new players must demonstrate leadership capabilities, ensure delivery of the promises and make people believe what they say.
Best of luck.
———-
This story by Sonam Dorji “Chagey” using our anonymous system.
———-
- Please contribute articles at: mail@bhutanomics.com
- Or contribute articles anonymously by clicking this link.
———-
Can’t figure out where Bhutanomics gets all these funny people who they pass off as writers, the only thing they have in common seems to be their hatred for HPM and their desire to paint a woeful picture of Bhutan as a whole.
Bhutanomics comes out with naked truths. The truths always seem untrue and unpleasant to some but for some these are more than eye opening facts for readers to judge.
I agree on some of your suggestions that new parties should be more active but other parts are simply trash. I am not saying that we have to vote for DPT but can’t stand your bullshit about demonizing DPT. You are bent on defaming DPT. That’s what I gather.
I will not call it defaming DPT, it is pointing out the truth. With the top five leaders of DPT implicated in the biggest land scam of Bhutan DPT is doomed. They might go scot free wih just a slap on their hands but we know now what is the truth.
What land scam, you mean Gyelpozhing, believe me, in the days gone by, worse things than Gyelpozhing have happened in Bhutan. And big shots helping each other was common practice then, you certainly can’t hold the DPT responsible for things that happened in 1991, if I am not wrobg DPT was formed only in 2007.
I would consider the nexus between Lyonpos, past and present in influencing the recruiting of their offspring into the Foreign Ministry a much more serious issue than the Gyelpozhing case. Maybe ACC should go digging in to such shady dealing sometimes.
seeing a revolution soon in the land of so-called shangrila !
PEMAYANZ….How will these super corrupt people go scot free when court has taken congnizance of thteir criminal activities. Constitution and ECB rules and regulations (Act) do ot allow such criminals to stand for elections.
How about naming this website to DPThatred.com or JYThatred.com?
Balance view is what is required for society to progress. It is difficult to please everybody at all time. Now talking about balance view let me illustrate the success, failure, disasters, unfriendly policies etc. of the present govt. as:
Success
1. Road connectivity improved and enhanced
2. Electricity availability almost reaching 90%
3. School enrollment satisfactory
4. Restrict construction and import of vehicles
5. Planning and building more hydro power plants
6. Increase number of tourists
7. Building three domestic airports but without flights and airport poorly built
Failure
1. unable to contain inflation
2. Food price soaring
3. Not able to provide two medical doctors to all BHUs and health facilities
4. Not able to discipline fiscal and monetary policies
5. No able to attract business for IT park
6. Not able to solve unemployment and youth related problems
7. Not able to control house rent
Blunders
1. Implementation of draconian tobacco act
2. Fighting Opposition on taxation policy and losing the battle
3. Enactment of education city bill
4. Attempting to become UNSC member and losing the battle
Disasters
1. Wangdiphodrang Dzong burnt down
2. Two fires in Chamkhar town
3, Earthquake and storms all over the country-taking down houses and destroying crops
Unfriendly policies
1. Jacking up price of electricity
2. pedestrian day on every first Sundays of the month
add more???????
This web site is Anti DPT but never mind , DPT will rule once again as long as JYT is alive.
The more this website tries to defame DPT, the more support we would like to give to this party. Idle mind is devil’s workshop and the authors of these articles have absolutely nothing to do. They simply want to ruin the country, government and people of this holy land. They are the wrongly born citizens of Bhutan.
I cannot say that every article provided in this site is untrue but one of the common thing about most of the article is showing hatred towards HPM. Social site should bring up both the side(bad and good) but this site seems pointing every mistakes of Govt which half of it were untrue. I can sense this site is created by other party members including opposition party to defame DPT to win in next election which, would be distant dream for one. It will be appreciated if the site come up with general view on the ruling government rather than standing as critic of the govt.
Tell does some of the MPs really deserve to be taking out the seat in NA?
Tell me what is the average experience of the ruling party in running the government?
Tell me how many nonsensical views very presented in the NA?
Tell me how many MPs really participate in the passing of the bills?
Tell me how many times did the ruling party deprive the opposition from presenting their views?
Now tell me are we going to make the same blunder twice?
But the good thing is now we do have level playing field…
Oh by the way does MPs having to have a minimum qualification of Degree make them any better? Just my thought. Well certainly not in terms of some MPs….
So why don’t you join politics and change the things you feel are wrong. The way you argue, it is easy to say that you have shit for brains.
If Asshole runs this site. What to you expect, only ass-writes up. Just to guage truth, i wrote an article against OL and Tenzing Goodpath, it never comes up here for public view……
But if you ask Ms Willow, she will tell you that this Bhutanomics is NEUTRAL.
OMG, Siren, you again!
Can’t you understand this simple distinction between the website, ie, Bhutanomics, which is inanimate, and therefore cannot be anything but neutral, and the writers/posters, like you and me, who by nature have likes and dislikes and therefore, take sides. I just can’t understand why some folks seem to have difficulty in understanding this simple fact!!!
Ms Willow here has got to be the biggest dud head going around, can’t you understand what Defoz has mentioned, he says that he posted two articles which did not conform to what Bhutanomics subscribes too and they refused to publish it, if that does not make Bhutanomics biased, than please spell what bias means, please.
So, also, please explain, how Bhutantimes.com was considered to be biased and against the PDP, while this site according to you is neutral.
In the current context, to me it doesn’t matter whoever gets elected as a constituent member from my constituency. The elected candidate doesn’t seem to have any influence in the affairs of the local governments as per the current political structure.
I don’t see my elected candidate discussing about any financial matters and developmental activities in my geog and dzongkhag in the parliament. I didn’t see him wedging any influence in prioritizing developmental activities in my geog and dzongkhag, be it at the local governance level or at the national level. I see him most of the time dozing off with mouth full of doma in the parliament whenever issues of grave national interests are discussed. I also don’t see that he has the power to influence decisions on any financial matters pertaining to my geog, except his constituency development fund, which is very insignificant any way. He is also not seen participating in the geog development meetings and dzongkhag development meetings.
Instead, I see him making regular appearances to duthroe, hospital, promotion parties, marriage ceremonies, and lochoes. I often see him show up during archery matches and local picnics where he brings some beer and wine. Occasionally, I see some of my village girls gleefully calling him to recharge their mobile balance. He is also seen constantly looking for a new model of SUV to have people drop their jaws whenever he drives past the village folks.
Rather my eyebrows will raise whenever talks are around about who will become the Gup of my geog and Dzongdag of my dzongkhag. These are the people I find playing instrumental role in bringing developments in my geog and dzongkhag. Moreover, all the five year plans in my geog and dzongkhag are prepared and implemented by the gup and the Dzongdag respectively. Before the new government is yet to be formed, I have seen GNH Commission has already collected proposals and plans from my dzongkhag for the 11th Five Year Plan.
What is the use of having a politician who is effective in making policies if local leaders fail to implement it? What good can a money brought in by a politician do if the local leaders fail to use them judiciously?
If ever I should see a vibrant democracy in Bhutan, first the Constitution has to be amended to allow Dzongdags to be democratically elected in every dzongkhags. They should form the next pool of seasoned potential candidates to contest for National Assembly or Nation Council seats. Then only, I can imagine realistic and beneficial laws enacted in the parliament for greater good. If desired, I would like to see Gups with minimum qualification of a university degree who will constitute a pool of eligible candidates during the election of a dzongdag. This way, the bogus post of Dzongkhag yargay chairman can be done away. Such an initiative would motivate capable people to remain in their respective dzongkhags and form a community of social service, rather than chasing wild geese in other places, often landing up in troubles. Also this way, people will enjoy the political freedom to chose their district governors from their own district. At the moment, people don’t have any rights to decide who becomes their governors and most often people from other dzongkags are appointed to the post. Such people don’t do things wholeheartedly because they don’t feel the sense of belonging.
But, my opinion will certainly change, if any aspiring candidate from my constituency shows characters and qualities that can leverage ministerial or constitutional posts (speaker, PM, or NC Chairman).
Well said, Chola. This is the kind of thoughtful posts we need. The points you have raised deserve serious consideration of the leadership of the country. We have a long way to go in order to get our fundas correct. But any meaningful change will be strongly opposed by those who enjoy power, wealth and status in the current set up. This is natural. Who wants to lose their all? They will use all kinds of emotive language to convince the people that any ideas and proposals which will bring about real change are directed against the Tsa-wa-sum and therefore anti-national.
Bhutan should be more known to the international community as an environmentalist nation than GNH state.
Our Prime Minister is making a joke of a philosophy that doesn’t blend well even in the home country.
At first, when I watched the movie clips on http://www.cabinet.gov.bt/, I thought PM was talking with serious conviction of changing the world paradigm on new mode of development that is less materialistic and not driven by GDP. But he should know that the international community of 7 billion cannot be fooled by 0.7 million Bhutanese. People are watching us and they are damaging our image by viciously attacking our concept of GNH. Read this article to form your judgment. http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2009/10/09/growth_and_happiness_in_bhutan_97248.html
For your information: http://www.kuenselonline.com/focus-point-7/#.UUXwqMoYmSo