Contrary to popular perception some of the new aspirants for a seat in the national council have no qualms about the present set of councilors re-contesting.
While informal discussions have been on for a year on whether the present set would be allowed to re contest such possibilities, it appears, was taken into consideration by the some aspirants before they decided to throw their hat into the ring.
The capable ones, some aspirants feel, should be allowed [... Read More]
While truth walks a mile, rumours, a saying goes, travels around the whole world.
We have our own homegrown saying that argues that if there is smoke, there is fire somewhere.
And so begins the political mudslinging along with the new season, normally associated with jubilation, colour, life and new beginning.
From some corners of the country, we are already hearing reports of how some candidates on familiarisation tours across the country, are casting aspersions on serving members [... Read More]
Yesterday, the National Council held its closing session, the last one of its five-year term that is winding to an end.
As is customary and a solemn tradition of sorts, members offer thanks at the closing of each parliament session to the nation’s guiding institutions and guardian deities.
So was the scene yesterday at council hall. This time the thanksgiving took much longer than usual, more than an hour.
This was expected after all it was the last [... Read More]
Fixing accountability is the key phrase that sticks out from the Council’s review of the Rupee issue its members deliberated yesterday and made recommendations on what should be done.
It wants some kind of action taken against those responsible for the situation the Bhutanese economy is in and according to their findings the central bank and finance ministry are the institutions to blamed for the mess that is perhaps only beginning.
The council even went on to [... Read More]
The Council making another attempt to advice the government on how to better manage the mining sector at a time when the government is considering dissolving a month before its term ends sounds a bit off timed.
For the ruling government the chief concern would be the next general election that is a few months away and its focus will be to show that during its term it governed well.
What point then is the council trying [... Read More]
It looks almost unlikely that Parliamentary Entitlement Act would be tabled for discussion to amend the provision dealing with members’ gratuity.
Apart from the possibility of National Council members disapproving it because it was the same provision they wished to change, or they did change and sent it to the assembly to do their part, it had, they said, issues of legality.
National Assembly members rejected it in the earlier session, one of the reasons being that [... Read More]
The idea of drilling a pipeline to transport fossil fuels from the southern borders to western Bhutan, which consumes half of what the country requires, sounds like an idea that needs to be fully explored.
It is a tried and tested technology used elsewhere in the world to move, over thousands of kilometres, large quantities of crude oil from oil fields to refineries and to destinations where it is consumed.
The basic idea is to take advantage [... Read More]
There are double the aspirants than there are seats for the National Council.
Going by the media reports and based on the number of candidates who showed up for a briefing by the election commission yesterday on electoral laws and procedures involved to contest for the council seat, there are almost 50 aspirants.
Consider the existing members, most of who have shown interest in re-contesting for the seats, and there are enough to fill the entire Parliament [... Read More]
The National Assembly speaker’s recent announcement during the opening session of the last Parliament session of the first democratically elected members to amend the parliamentary entitlement Act has generated discussions.
While the reason speaker gave sounded logical, in that waiting until the actual date of April 20 to dissolve the assembly would mean the elections falling during the peak monsoon season.
The issue was discussed several times in the past and the media has been accused by [... Read More]
The Losar break, for many Bhutanese living in the capital city, accorded a little private space with their families.
Instead of measuring a year tick past, by how long you lived in the same rented apartment or worked at a job, when in a family, it is about how long a relationship endured and how tall the tree you planted as a kid had grown and watching your own child plant one.
It was about the joy, [... Read More]