The Bhutanese Leading the way.
The Bhutan Kuen-Ngyam Party (BKP) submitted its application for party registration with the Election Commission of Bhutan (ECB) yesterday to make it the first new party able to meet its registration deadline.
This was a party effort to officially register itself toward the end of November as announced in its last press conference and the party put forward its 200 registered members to ECB.
According to the interim party president Sonam Tobgay the party has submitted whatever is required as per Election Act for party registration. The application enclosed includes party charter, election symbol (Kuen-ngyam Khorlo) filed an application for registration, fulfilled all the requirements.
He said that the registration process was done at the right time and BKP would have to wait for ECB to review the submitted application before the party is declared as a registered political party.
The interim party president also shared that the party is trying hard to come up as a political party which is not easy at all. “This is because, people at this point in time do not feel the need to engage in politics.”
He said people feel politics is for politicians and general citizens in the country at large feels it as something very weary, something very suspicious, and something very much associated with corruption, which BKP totally contradicts.
As far as BKP’s views on politics are concerned the interim President said that it is very noble, something very sacred, and something very passionate and something close to heart “Politics is not about anything else but to serve the country and the people”.
The party also shared that there is need for a kind of awareness to be disseminated far and wide among people for want of brighter future of the country.
“Right now people do not realize the importance of public service,” He added. Further he also said that it is not just for the BKP but for the overall good of the democracy in the country.
The interim Party President also shared that four or five candidates will be made public in the coming weeks. “We’ve been very choosy in terms of whom we bring to the team and it is myopic if you engage in politics for yourself than for public service.”
He also acknowledged that the party has been slow and steady in getting members. This is because the party really means what they say and they’ll do what they say. For that they believe they need strong and able candidates.
In their registration process, not all 47 candidates have been fielded. He said this is because most of their candidates are serving civil servants and other institution and needs to fulfill their obligations.
However, he said the list will keep expanding. He further justified that not all 47 candidates are required during registration within the requirements of the election act. “ECB only encourages a political party to have all members, which is a fair and reasonable demand,” he said.
Submission of the application is the first step of the registration process. The ECB will review the application before declaring it a political party.
The review process will be guided by Chapter 8 of Election Act of the Kingdom of Bhutan, which mandates political parties to fulfill certain standards.
