How Democracy is Evolving in Bhutan
The Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan is taking another step on its road to democracy next Monday. It will hold local elections for the first time in most of the country.
This comes just three years after a sweep of democracy was brought in by the then-King, over the protests of a population that preferred for him to continue to rule. Bhutan’s transition from feudal monarchy to democracy is still a work-in-progress.
The weekend market in the town of Paro is a collage of color, of Buddhist monks in berry-colored robes, townsfolk in traditional tunics, and villagers, down from their mountain farms. Sonam, an elderly man with a warm smile, sits cross-legged on the ground, selling rice and apples. He’s a former village chief, and said, in recent years, the government has done a great job of bringing roads, electricity, mobile phones and even satellite television to villages like his.