January 01, 2008	Tuesday	Zilhaj 21, 1428

SARPANG (Bhutan), Dec 31: The isolated Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan on Monday successfully held its first parliamentary elections aimed at transforming the country from absolute monarchy to constitutional democracy.

“Polling has ended with overwhelming response,” Bhutan’s chief election commissioner Dasho Kunzang Wangdi said by telephone from the capital Thimphu after polling stations closed.

“It was a positive start for democracy and no problems were reported.” Elections were held for the 25-member National Council, or upper house in parliament, although Monday’s vote was for just 15 seats with another five due for polls in late January.

The king nominates five additional members to the council.

Results to be gathered from electronic voting machines used for the first time in the country are expected later Monday or early Tuesday, Wangdi said.

The elections represent a dramatic shift of power in Bhutan orchestrated by former king Jigme Singye Wangchuck.

The monarch abdicated in December 2006 in favour of Oxford-educated son King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck as part of plans to introduce a constitution and hold direct elections — a break with a century of royal rule.

“I came along with my husband and two sons early in the morning. We are now part of history having cast our votes,” schoolteacher Pema Dorji said at a polling station in southern Sarpang near the border with India.

But many Bhutanese view the looming changes with trepidation.

“To be frank we want the monarchy to continue. But with the king deciding to usher in democracy there is no option and so we are praying that this new system works well,” said an elderly monk, who identified himself as Tshering.

Around two thirds of the 313,000 voters registered in the Buddhist kingdom of 700,000 people were eligible to vote on Monday, Wangdi said, but final turnout was not immediately available.

Men in traditional colourful full-sleeved robes tied at the waist and women dressed in ‘kiras’, sarong-like wraps, lined up at polling stations in Sarpang.

Security was tight in the area, with the nearby border with India’s restive northeastern Assam state closed since last week due to concerns over possible militant attacks.

Bhutan fears the militants might take revenge for a 2003 military crackdown with the help of India that evicted three separatist groups — two based in Assam and one from West Bengal.

A total of 41 candidates are in the fray in the 15 districts, Wangdi said.

About 15,000 officials were manning more than 700 polling stations.

National Council candidates cannot be members of political parties unlike those serving in the 75-member National Assembly, or lower house, for which elections will be held in February or March.

Members of the royal family and those directly associated with religious institutions are not allowed to vote.—AFP