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| This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Bhutan |
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National Assembly elections were held in Bhutan in 2018; the first round was held on 15 September and the second round on 18 October. [2]
Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it is bordered by Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north, the Sikkim state of India and the Chumbi Valley of Tibet in the west, the Arunachal Pradesh state of India in the east, and the states of Assam and West Bengal in the south. Bhutan is geopolitically in South Asia and is the region's second least populous nation after the Maldives. Thimphu is its capital and largest city, while Phuntsholing is its financial center.
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The ruling People's Democratic Party of former Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay came third in the first round of voting, unexpectedly failing to advance to the second round and resulting in it losing all 32 seats. [3] The second round was a contest between the Bhutan Peace and Prosperity Party (Druk Phuensum Tshogpa, DPT), the only other party with parliamentary representation, and the unrepresented Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa (DNT), which received the most votes in the first round.
The People's Democratic Party is one of the major political parties in Bhutan, formed on March 24, 2007. The founder president of this party is Sangay Ngedup, the former prime minister and agriculture minister of the Royal Government of Bhutan. The current leader of the party is Tshering Tobgay. The People's Democratic Party submitted its application for registration on August 6, 2007 and thus became the first political party in Bhutan to do so. On September 1, 2007 the Election Commission of Bhutan registered the party. The party presented candidates for the 2008 National Assembly election in all 47 constituencies.
Tshering Tobgay is a Bhutanese politician, environmentalist, and cultural advocate who was the Prime Minister of Bhutan from July 2013 to August 2018. Tobgay is leader of the People's Democratic Party, and was also the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly from March 2008 to April 2013.
The Bhutan Peace and Prosperity Party, or Druk Phuensum Tshogpa, is one of the major political parties in Bhutan. It was formed on 25 July 2007 as a merger of the All People's Party and the Bhutan People's United Party, which were both short-lived. The working committee of the merged entity, headed by the former home minister, Jigmi Yoezer Thinley, decided on the name for the new party. On 15 August 2007, Jigmi Yoezer Thinley was elected president of the party, and the party applied for registration, thus becoming the second political party in Bhutan to do so. On 2 October 2007, the Election Commission of Bhutan registered the party. On 24 March 2008, the party won the first general election held in Bhutan. The party secured 45 of the 47 seats to the National Assembly.
