Guwahati: The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) emerged victorious in 39 out of the 47 constituencies in Bhutan in the primary round of the fourth National Assembly elections held on Thursday, according to Kuensel.
Bhutan went to poll on Thursday for the fourth time after the erstwhile Himalayan kingdom transitioned to democracy in 2008. This year’s election featured the largest-ever field of five political parties.
A total of 496,836 voters were eligible to cast their votes to elect their candidates to the 47 seats of the fourth parliament of the landlocked Himalayan nation.
Nestled between China and India, Bhutan is known for its Gross National Happiness (GNH) index, an economic gauge that takes into account factors normally ignored by gross domestic product measures, like recreation and emotional well-being.
The two parties that win the highest number of votes will qualify for the final round of the election to the 47-member National Assembly, set to take place on January 9.
Voting started at 8 a.m. (0200 hours GMT) and continued till 4 p.m on Thursday.
Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) won the first and second parliamentary elections in Bhutan respectively.