SPEAKING
FREELY Democracy takes root in
Bhutan By Medha Bisht
Speaking Freely is an Asia Times
Online feature that allows guest writers to have
their say. Please
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contributing.
As Bhutan prepares
for its second-ever parliamentary elections in
2013, it can look back on five years of
experimentation and internalization that have seen
formal structures of democracy grow.
Criteria for assessing the success of
democratization should include gauging the growth
of "effective components" of democracy. Although
one often comes across the description of
democracy as a "gift” (kidu) by the King,
analysis reveals that the
process of
democratization has given rise to various
stakeholders in internal politics.
That
the basic parameters of democracy are well
respected shows Bhutan has passed part of the
test. The Kingdom's constitution guarantees basic
fundamental rights such as freedom of expression
and to form associations. There is an independent
media and citizens have protection from arbitrary
actions of the state, particularly bodily injury
and physical harm.
There is also certainly
separation of powers where different institutions
like the Election Commission, the Royal Court of
Justice, the Anti-Corruption Commission, the
National Assembly and the National Council
effectively guard and stand by their respective
turfs.
On electoral procedures, Bhutan has
embraced the first-past-the-post system, which
typically makes way for two main parties to
contest the elections. However, unlike 2008, next
year five political parties will compete in the
vote. These are: Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT), the
People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Bhutan Kuen-Ngyam
Party (BKP), Druk Chirwang Tshogpa (DCT) and Druk
Nyamrup Tshogpa (DNT).
The DPT is the
incumbent party and has the best chances of
retaining power next year, while the PDP is the
main opposition. Led by Tsering Tobgay, the PDP
has spoken out against various socio-economic
policies being implemented by the ruling party.
The BKP is a new party which focuses on
equality. Rup Narayan Adhikari, the party leader,
is an engineer by profession and a veteran in the
private and public sector. The DCT, another new
party in the race, is led by Lily Wangchuk, a
well-known career diplomat and social activist.
The rights of women and the marginalized are the
main focus of the party. Finally, the DNT focuses
on freedom, justice and solidarity, and has no
declared leader at this point.
An
interesting development is the formation of Druk
Mesar Nazhoen Tshogpa (DMNT), a youth collective
lobbying for job creation. According to the United
Nations, 50.4% of Bhutan’s population is under 24,
and DMNT could be a game changer in determining
the election outcome.
In his book
Democracy, Charles Tilly presented a
definition of the effective components of
democracy. According to him, "a regime is
democratic to the extent that political relations
between state and citizens feature broad, equally,
protected and mutually binding consultations."
The first two variables - broad and equal
- entail the criterion of effective citizenship,
whereby all citizens are treated equally and have
no significant political rights and obligations
based on ethnicity, religion, race or caste. The
latter two emphasize protection against arbitrary
actions of the state and substantive interaction
between the state and citizens, whereby interests/
pressure groups have the latitude to influence the
institutional structures of the state and its key
policies through various means.
Seen from
the lens of effective components, the process of
democratization in Bhutan is still incomplete.
This is particularly so given the issue of
Nepalese refugees. There are also niggling
questions regarding the Nyingma sect in eastern
Bhutan, who were supposedly ousted from Bhutan in
the 1990s.These issues are less talked about and
kept from public scrutiny. The Bhutanese state,
has remained officially silent on such issues and
been reluctant to discuss them in the public
domain.
Active citizen-state interaction
is a parameter for effective democracy, and
domestic space has indeed increased in Bhutan.
This can be seen in the hydropower sector and the
relatively small but growing business community,
which has made inroads into Bhutan's political
economy. The significance of these issues came out
in the open in July, when a tender was given to
Global Traders and Gangjung, a supplier of Chinese
vehicles. The issue was debated in the Bhutan’s
domestic media apropos the procedures of
transparency associated with the tendering
process.
Commenting on effective
components of democracy, Wangchuk in a personal
interview with the author commented on the
inadequacy of informal space in Bhutan. She stated
categorically that while formal structures had
taken root, informal groups and collectives to
voice the opinion of common people were yet to
emerge. She also expressed caution over the
growing importance of the business community,
which she considered could be harmful to Bhutanese
democracy in the long term. The comment was
expressed against the backdrop of constraints
confronting the funding of political parties in
Bhutan.
While Bhutan has a long way to go
in its democratization process, with certain
social and economic issues to be pondered upon and
taken up by the ruling party in years to come, the
2013 elections will definitely pave the way for
what policies in Bhutan should envision by 2018.
Much of these developments would be dependent on
how the "effective components" shape up in the
domestic political space of Bhutan.
Speaking Freely is an Asia Times Online
feature that allows guest writers to have their
say.Please
click hereif you are interested in
contributing. Articles submitted for this section
allow our readers to express their opinions and do
not necessarily meet the same editorial standards
of Asia Times Online's regular contributors.
Dr Medha Bisht is Assistant
Professor at the Department of International
Relations, South Asian University, New Delhi. She
can be contacted at medha.bisht@gmail.com
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