As Bhutan votes in a new government while giving its king a titular role, the Himalayan country hopes to end its isolation with the rest of the world and join the forces of globalisation.

Dr Dechen Tshering, an official posted with the United Nations Environmental Programme in Bangkok, flew in last Sunday to Thimphu to cast her vote. She flew back on Tuesday. The journey cost Tshering and her husband Ngultrum 44,000 (approximately $960). For the Bhutanese national, the money was worth it. The country’s first parliamentary election on March 24 was a historic moment and she wanted to be a part of it.
For Kuenphen Dorji, however, this moment in history came tinged with sadness. Dorji joined the Royal Body Guard—a crack commando force in charge of the King’s security in 1969, “Just two years after Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru visited our country,” remembers the 60-year-old.
So what has brought along the sadness?
Dorji struggles to find an answer. He felt things have been absolutely peaceful and stable under the King so it was a hard moment when he cast his ballot that would end the royal’s absolute power.
But Dorji does not miss the trust and faith that the King has reposed in his subjects. “His majesty is empowering the people.”
Dorji has voted not because he thought that it would benefit him individually but because he felt the King had a vision and it had to be fulfilled. He thought the new journey would end Bhutan’s isolation from the rest of the world.
Significantly, this transition from absolute monarchy to constitutional democracy comes at a time when the entire region from Pakistan to Bangladesh, from Thailand to Nepal and Myanmar, is wrestling with democracy. This tiny Himalayan mountain kingdom begins its own experiment with democracy, ending hundred years of absolute monarchy. It’s another matter that the change comes under the monarchy’s own terms and would be under the constant vigil of the King.

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