General Information
At stake in this election:
- 47 seats in the National Assembly
Description of government structure:
- Chief of State: King Jigme Khesar Namgyel WANGCHUCK
- Head of Government: Prime Minister Kinzang DORJI
- Assembly: Bhutan has a bicameral Parliament consisting of the National Council with 25 seats and the National Assembly with 47 seats.
Description of electoral system:
- The King is hereditary N/A.
- In the National Council, 20 members are elected by majority vote in single-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms and 5 members are appointed by the monarch to serve 5-year terms*. In the National Assembly 47 members are elected by majority vote in multi-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms.**
* Members of the upper house National Council cannot belong to any political party.
** Members of the lower house National Assembly represent political parties.
Main parties in the electoral race:
- Party: People's Democratic Party
- Leader: Sangay NGEDUP
- Seats won in this National Assembly election: 3
- Seats won in last National Assembly election: 0
- Party: Druk Phuensum Tshogpa
- Leader: Jigme Y THINLEY
- Seats won in this National Assembly election: 44
- Seats won in last National Assembly election: 0
Population and number of registered voters:
- Population: 634,982 (May 2005 census; 672,425 including expatriates)
- Registered Voters: 318,465 (March 2008 )
Gender Data:
· Female Population: 322,470 (2008)
· Is Bhutan a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980)
· Has Bhutan ratified CEDAW: Yes (31 August 1981)
· Gender Quota: No
· Female candidates in this election: Yes
· Number of Female Parliamentarians: 4 (National Assembly) (following 2008 elections)
· Human Development Index Position: 132 (2014)
· Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Low (2014)
Disability Data:
· Is Bhutan a signatory to CRPD: Yes (21 September 2010)
· Has Bhutan ratified CRPD: No
· Population with a disability: 95,247 (est.)