Bhutan holds its first elections

[Matt W]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7165709.stm

The Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan is holding its first parliamentary elections today after a century of direct rule by the monarchy.

The elections will leave Bhutan's young king with a more ceremonial role.

The vote is for the upper house of parliament, the National Council, and is part of the country's introduction of parliamentary democracy.

It is part of a radical modernisation plan for the isolated Himalayan kingdom.

Fair play....both the old king and the new are pushing this themselves, so it could be v.interesting.

[tony mitra]

Fully agree. Bhutan is such a tiny country, tucked away in the Himalayas and sandwiched between two giants, China and India, they are more or less dependent on support from the neighbors for all sorts of things, and are often pulled in opposite directions by the neighbor big brothers, each of whom wants the tiny nation to be more its own puppet, than the others. China can offer more monetary help, while India professes to offer help in transition to a better future, a la democracy.

Anyhow, democratic movement is good for them in the long run. Hope they can balance their relationship with the two brothers without getting themselves into trouble. China is kind of apprehensive that the movement towards democracy and self rule does not spill over into Tibet and nearby outlying provinces.

Cheers
Tony