General round: Know your candidates
Dogar- Shaba, Paro
Wednesday, June 19th, 2013 - 8:37 PM
Language and politics
Politics may have given the biggest push to promote Dzongkha, but for aspiring politicians, the national language is proving to be quite a hurdle in getting their messages across, if the recent political developments are anything to go by.
Candidates are already opting out of common forums that are conducted in national language, citing the electorate’s inability to understand them, while some of them who participated struggled to read their campaign speeches. There were also some [... Read More]
Thanks but no thanks, we’ll go door to door
Say the Ugyentse-Yoeseltse candidates to the ECB-facilitated common forum
Citing paddy cultivation season and language barrier as the reasons, the Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) and People Democratic Party (PDP) candidates jointly submitted a letter to their constituency’s returning officer on June 17, requesting not to organise common forums in their constituency in Samtse.
Instead, they would opt to do door to door campaign.
Organised by the election commission of Bhutan, the common forum was created to allow party [... Read More]
What goes in to bring out the tengma
It’s a tough work protecting a source of income
While some farmers in the eastern districts are busy fending off wild boars, porcupines and monkeys from their fields in Thridangbi village, Mongar district, some have started reaping what they sowed.
One of them is Samten Dorji, 46, who straightens up at the sound of an approaching vehicle. He is positioned in a makeshift stall by the side of the road to sell Tengma (roasted and flattened maize). [... Read More]
Editorial
The not so good about common forums
Candidates of both political parties in one of the constituencies of Samtse have written to election officials seeking cancellation of common forum for them.
Besides being well-intended, in that the candidates wished not to come in the way of the rural voters’ farming activities, they also thought it futile to hold such forums that, they believe, serve its purpose less.
Save for those, who are really eloquent speakers, knowing which they look forward to such forums, for [... Read More]
Cattle supply shortage leads to jacked-up price at source
More than a week after the no-meat month ended, beef and pork are off the menu
The no-meat month ended on June 9, but homes across the country are still making do with a vegetarian diet, with little or no supply from across the border.
In the past few days, supply of beef from across the border, a preferred choice among consumers, completely stopped, according to vendors in the capital.
The weekly import of beef is usually between [... Read More]
Picture story
Volunteers with a caravan of horses, who were on a weeklong cleaning campaign trek along the Druk Path trail, collected about 70 sacks of garbage last week. The volunteers trekked from Paro along Jili dzong, Tshoklam, Narithang, Bjimilangtsho and returned to Thimphu from Phajoding. The cleaning campaign was organsied by Amazing Dragon Holiday and supported by ABTO and NRED.Photo [... Read More]
Radhi-Sakteng DPT supporters unfazed …
… even though their replacement candidate is yet to file his nomination papers
Durk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) jabchorpas (party workers) in Radhi-Sakteng constituency are unperturbed, although its replacement candidate Jigme Wangchuk is yet to file his nomination papers.
The PDP candidate in the constituency, Kinley Dorji, is already going strong with the door-to-door campaign.
Former Druk Chirwang Tshogpa candidate Jigme Wangchuk from Joenla was approached after DPT’s candidate, Jigme Tshultim, was disqualified during scrutiny of nomination papers on [... Read More]
DPT candidate and coordinator get a rap on the knuckles
The election dispute settlement body has warned the pair not to repeat their mistake
DPT’s Trashicholing constituency candidate Durga Prasad Chhetri and a Kuchintar chiwog party coordinator in Tendu gewog have been warned by the election dispute settlement body in Samtse dzongkhag for serving food and drinks to villagers on June 12 during a party coordination meeting.
The Druk Chirwang Tshogpa’s former candidate, Nima Drukpa, from Tendu gewog filed a written complaint on June 13. Nima Drukpa [... Read More]
Improved delivery in Dzongkha
Druk Phuensum Tshogpa’s (DPT) Ugyentse-Yoeseltse candidate Lila Pradhan fared much better than in the primaries, in terms of her speech delivery.
Seemingly looking confident, the former Parliament member, although struggled reading her written speech, managed to communicate her pledges for the country and her constituency at a public debate conducted at the Samtse dzongkhag hall on June 17.
Lila Pradhan, who was reckoned among many people as a bench warmer during her five-year tenure at the Parliament [... Read More]