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."
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