NEW DELHI: Bhutan’s prime minister conceded defeat on Sunday, after the ruling party was knocked out in the first round of the small Himalayan nation’s third-ever election.

Harvard educated Tsher­ing Tobgay was seeking a second term in the poll but fell short of two rival parties, who will contest a runoff on Oct 18.

Election officials said Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT), which won Bhutan’s first-ever election when the kingdom transitioned to dem­o­cracy in 2008, attracted nearly 93,000 votes, narrowly beating Druk Nyam­rup Tshogpa (DNT).

“I congratulate DNT and DPT and their candidates [on] their outstanding performance,” Tobgay posted on Twitter.

Tobgay, a 52-year-old mou­ntain-biking enthusiast, and his People’s Democratic Party won power from opposition in 2013.

More than 291,000 people cast their vote in Saturday’s poll for a 66 per cent turnout of registered voters, said an election official.

Bhutan has tried to shield itself from the downsides of modernisation, striving for “Gross National Happiness” over GDP growth, maintaining a carbon-negative economy and keeping tourist numbers down with a daily fee of $250 per visitor in high season.

The 800,000 inhabitants of Switzerland-sized Bhutan got television in 1999 and democracy arrived only in 2008 when its “dragon king” monarchy ceded absolute power.

Published in Dawn, September 17th, 2018