Ninth session of Bhutanese parliament
The last budget session of the Bhutanese parliament is set to begin in the capital on Friday. The first elected government will present its final budget before going for the election, early next year.
This budget will determine the popularity of the current ruling party. The more it can give, less likely it is to face challenges in the general election due for 2013. Though, principally, summer sessions are not meant for rumbling over legislation, there are quite few bills in parliament to be discussed and few new are set to be introduced.
Three bills to be introduced in the National Assembly include: Domestic Violence Prevention Bill; Land (Amendment) Bill; and Road Bill. The assembly is also scheduled to discuss these bills: National Flag Bill and Parliamentary Entitlement (Amendment) Bill that were introduced and endorsed by the National Council earlier.
The parliament will debate over their differences in Education City Bill; Disaster Management Bill and Druk Gyalpo’s Relief Fund Bill.
Most important of all these is the budget for next fiscal year, that begins on July 1 and economic progress report of the Prime Minister. As usual, Anti-Corruption Commission and Royal Audit Authority will present their report to the parliament. Royal Audit Authority’s report has already invited dispute among ministries and departments.