PARO, April 21: The people of the isolated Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan streamed into polling stations on Saturday for a “mock election” designed as a dress rehearsal for the country’s first truly democratic polls next year.

The poll, with dummy parties and imaginary manifestos, takes mainly Buddhist Bhutan a step closer towards ending a century of royal rule, a prospect which has produced a mixture of enthusiasm and trepidation in a country which lived in a mediaeval world a generation ago.

“The kings have been reigning very peacefully in our country,” said 70-year-old Auchu after voting in the western town of Paro, the huge white-walled fortress or dzong on a hill in the distance. “The king wants to give power to the people, but I am not sure how the people will handle this power.”

In the nearby village of Lango, queues formed as polls opened at 9am, the people all clothed in traditional gowns, long dresses and some in silk jackets.

“Democracy is good,” said 31-year-old Chencho Gyeltsen.

“Previously people in power only looked after their near and dear ones, but now democracy has started, everyone should get what they deserve.”

Former King Jigme Singye Wangchuck decided to hand power to an elected government, against the will of his advisers and many subjects, before passing his crown to his 26-year-old Oxford-educated son last December.

“It was not on account of any external or internal pressure, there was no power struggle of any kind,” said Prime Minister Khandu Wangchuk. “Authority has always been devolved from the throne to a very reluctant people.”

As recently as the 1960, Bhutan had no roads and practically no schools or hospitals. Today education and healthcare are free, and life expectancy has risen to 66 years, from less than 40, a fact most people attribute to the monarch’s rule. “We have been living happily for so long under the leadership of our king,” said 65-year-old Tshering Bida in Lango, her teeth stained red from chewing betel nut.—Reuters