The democratic changes ushered by the royals allowing political parties to participate in the democratic process and represent the will of the people through periodic elections have hardly made any, if any, changes to the life of ordinary citizens.
The king is exercising more power than before to swirl the parties to his whims and anyone questioning his whims is eliminated. As the fourth periodic election is near, there’s a likelihood of one of the oldest parties in the parliament Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) getting eliminated. This has been the attempt of the palace since 2013. Many leaders who contested previous elections under the DPT banner are encouraged to create a new party. The new party is focusing its attention on eastern districts where DPT has made its stronghold since its inception.
Over three dozen political activists, who were arrested for demanding democratic changes, are still in jail on charges of treason. The incarceration of democracy fighters in jail is ironically teasing the Bhutanese democracy and its purity.
Sexual abuse of women and girls had been a major issue in the last few years with the government failing to act. However, the issue is sometimes used as a weapon to victimise others – a special case on this issue is highlighted on this report.
The government is limiting the freedom of information, not only by a new law but also by creating a veil in the government system that restricts the flow of information. Journalists do not get access to government information and government officials speaking to the media are terminated from their jobs. Journalists’ professional bodies raised concerns about the lack of access to information, however, were met with no response from the government.
The parliament has passed a law giving both royal projects – Desuung and Gyalsung – legal status. This, however, is outside of the purview of an elected government and the king has been granted full authority to force people into mandatory services for which they may not be paid, even though costs for all programmes are borne by the government treasury. The Gyalsung Act prescribed that all Bhutanese citizens, within the country or overseas, and under 35 years of age, must return to the country for mandatory/ voluntary services. Anyone failing to register for the service or remaining absent is fined the daily minimum national wage rate up to a maximum of ninety days.
The report covers the period from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2022.