People in Bhutan Forced to Join Parties

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By Bishal Budathoki in Phuentsholing

The recently announced parties in Bhutan have begun intimidating and forcing the people to join their group and vote for them during the upcoming election.

The latest instance comes from Bumthang district in central Bhutan where the people complained to the election commission that they were forced to join the parties.

The parties began to threaten the people to vote for them during the election scheduled for 2008. This would be the first election being held in the country to elect people's representative to the national legislature.

The parties forcefully distributed party membership form falsifying that the form was from the election commission distributed for registration in the voters' list.

Since the people are unaware about the process of democracy and political partying, the newly formed parties have misguided them.

The newly formed parties like Bhutan People's Democratic Party, Bhutan National Party and People's Democratic Party constitutes mostly those loyal to the royals.

Selected unscrupulous people have been dispatched to list the names of those who were unwilling to fill up the forms and join the party.

In early 1990, the king-led government announced Bhutan People's Party, Bhutan National Democratic Party, Bhutan State Congress, Druk National Congress, Bhutan Socialist Democratic Party and many other organizations to launch the movement for democracy and human rights as terrorist groups.

However, with immense international pressure and continued efforts by the parties in exile forced the Wangchuk regime to relinquish its power and agree to establish democracy.

Bhutan News Service

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