AGL 40.18 Increased By ▲ 0.18 (0.45%)
AIRLINK 127.48 Increased By ▲ 0.44 (0.35%)
BOP 6.60 Decreased By ▼ -0.07 (-1.05%)
CNERGY 4.50 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.22%)
DCL 8.53 Decreased By ▼ -0.02 (-0.23%)
DFML 41.90 Increased By ▲ 0.46 (1.11%)
DGKC 87.56 Increased By ▲ 0.71 (0.82%)
FCCL 32.52 Increased By ▲ 0.24 (0.74%)
FFBL 65.21 Increased By ▲ 0.41 (0.63%)
FFL 10.30 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.49%)
HUBC 109.62 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.05%)
HUMNL 14.60 Decreased By ▼ -0.08 (-0.54%)
KEL 5.12 Increased By ▲ 0.07 (1.39%)
KOSM 7.56 Increased By ▲ 0.10 (1.34%)
MLCF 41.66 Increased By ▲ 0.28 (0.68%)
NBP 59.89 Decreased By ▼ -0.52 (-0.86%)
OGDC 194.00 Increased By ▲ 3.90 (2.05%)
PAEL 28.21 Increased By ▲ 0.38 (1.37%)
PIBTL 7.77 Decreased By ▼ -0.06 (-0.77%)
PPL 151.82 Increased By ▲ 1.76 (1.17%)
PRL 26.50 Decreased By ▼ -0.38 (-1.41%)
PTC 16.11 Increased By ▲ 0.04 (0.25%)
SEARL 84.80 Decreased By ▼ -1.20 (-1.4%)
TELE 7.70 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.13%)
TOMCL 35.39 Decreased By ▼ -0.02 (-0.06%)
TPLP 8.12 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
TREET 16.03 Decreased By ▼ -0.38 (-2.32%)
TRG 52.60 Decreased By ▼ -0.69 (-1.29%)
UNITY 26.30 Increased By ▲ 0.14 (0.54%)
WTL 1.25 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.79%)
BR100 9,953 Increased By 69.4 (0.7%)
BR30 30,908 Increased By 307.7 (1.01%)
KSE100 93,785 Increased By 429.6 (0.46%)
KSE30 29,050 Increased By 119.3 (0.41%)

Bhutan tightened security on Friday and temporarily closed its borders before a historic vote next week to elect the upper house of parliament, its first tentative move towards democracy from a century of absolute monarchy.
Monday's vote for the 25-member National Council will set the stage for the isolated Himalayan kingdom's national polls to elect the parliament's lower house in February and March next year.
Sandwiched between India and China, Bhutan has been inching towards democracy since former monarch King Jigme Singye Wangchuk decided to hand power to an elected government, before passing his crown to his 27-year-old Oxford-educated son last year.
It also held two mock polls in April and May to familiarise people with voting and train officials for elections that will eventually pave the way for a democratic political party system.
Of the 25 members of the National Council, five are to be chosen by the king while the remaining candidates will be elected by more than 310,000 registered voters.
The candidates are meant to be eminent public figures rather than representing a political party.
The kingdom's election commission issued a string of directives on Friday, including a prohibition on carrying weapons and mobile phones inside voting stations.
It urged people to put on hold an annual pilgrimage to India around this time of the year and vote in large numbers.
"One should also participate in shaping the future of the country and fulfil the country's vision for a vibrant democracy," said Kunzang Wangdi, Bhutan's Chief Election Commissioner.
"Let us vote and make a difference during the election because the opportunity for pilgrimage will come every year."
The election will see villagers in each district nominate a maximum of four suitable candidates, one among whom will then be elected to the National Council using electronic voting machines. Bhutan has 20 districts.
Election officials said villagers in five districts had failed to nominate even a single candidate, and so voting there had been postponed to January 29 to allow them to look for nominees.
The election commission also ordered the border with India be closed for 36 hours on fears Nepal's former Maoist rebels could cause trouble in support of ethnic Nepalis who fled Bhutan or were expelled in 1991 for demanding democracy and protesting against discrimination.
About 106,000 ethnic Nepalis from Bhutan now live in impoverished condition in camps in south-eastern Nepal and often try to push their way through India into Bhutan.
These refugees demand that they be allowed to return to their birthplace and participate in the elections. "If the King is really sincere about introducing democracy he should take us into account," Thinley Penjore, a leader of Bhutan's ethnic Nepalis, told Reuters. "We have not been counted."

Copyright Reuters, 2007

Comments

Comments are closed.