Candidates of the two contesting parties in Bhutan’s maiden general elections are making last-ditch efforts to woo voters before they go to the polls on March 24.
During the campaign, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) mainly concentrated on house-to-house electioneering using slogans like “walk the talk” and “service with humility” while the Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) promised it would ensure growth with equity and justice.
The strategy of DPT and PDP to interact with the voters may appear similar, but their messages are not. Bhutan’s transition to democracy began in 2001 when former king Jigme Singye Wangchuk handed over powers to a Council of Ministers.
Candidate Kaka Tshering, a Barack Obama fan, frequently borrowed the American presidential frontrunner’s message of “change” and used it even in remote villages near the Bhutan-Tibet border.