BPUP is out of the game
28 November, 2007 - The Election Commission of Bhutan yesterday disqualified the Bhutan People United Party (BPUP) from registering as a political party in the country because it was out of tune with the noble aspirations of the Constitution of Bhutan, a press release from the commission said.
The press release stated that the applicant lacked the capacity to fulfill the “aspirations, visions and goals” of a democratic Bhutan.“It lacks credible leadership of the calibre that is needed to run and manage the affairs of the nation or even the management of the group itself …” the press release stated.
It went on: “It lacks both maturity and the appropriate mix and strength in terms of its membership since more than 80 percent of the members are (school) drop-outs, or have no credible academic qualifications.”
Although the applicant party maintained that it enjoyed “popular support of more than 2,500 youths and thousand of voters” in the country, it had only 13 registered members, who were registered in the elecoral vote, out of the 42 it had filed with the commission, the press release pointed out.
The applicant party had waived off membership fees on the grounds that it was a party for the Nyamchung (downtrodden people) but that went against the Constitution of Bhutan, which was for a united, not divided based on religion, economic or social status, the press release said.
Thus even though the applicant claimed to be the first to form a (unregistered) party in Bhutan, “it has failed to prove its capability as a credible party even as of date,” the press release said. “The (party’s) charter submitted had no clear ideology, vision and mission, indicating the lack of leadership with capability to envision goals and objectives of the group,” the press release said.
BPUP had applied for registration on October 15, one and a half months ago. Former Royal Advisory Councillors - Sigay Dorji and D B Sinchuri - had led BPUP in September this year after withdrawing from Druk Phuensum Tshogpa as members because of internal differences. Sigay Dorji served as the party’s interim president. BPUP was formed before any of the present parties. It had joined the erstwhile All People’s Party to become Druk Phuensum Tshogpa.
This could leave the Peoples’ Democratic Party and the Druk Phuensum Tshogpa as the only contenders for the first democratically elected government of Bhutan. This could also mean that the primary round of elections won’t be held, according to the election commission.
The few observers Kuensel talked to were in agreement with the election commission’s decision. They said that BPUP was “too little, too late” and that it had not given the Bhutanese public any reason to believe that it was credible and formed with the faith and conviction to serve the Bhutanese people.
BPUP disagrees. It’s convening an “emergency” meeting today to craft an “appropriate response” to the election commission and to their cause.
“We are upset,” said one of the founding members of BPUP, who did not want to be named. “All of us are very upset. We’ll have reactions, lots of it. We’ve many youths as full-time employees of the party. It’s not fair.”
By Kencho Wangdi
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