Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) swept both the constituencies in Bumthang.

In Chhoekhor-Tang, the DPT president Pema Gyamtsho was a shoo-in to win the election against his nephew, Dawa, the candidate of Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa (DNT).

While Dawa was asking Bumthang for change, Pema Gyamtsho was seen as the prime ministerial candidate should the cranes win. This factor even influenced the other constituency in Bumthang.

Pema Gyamtsho secured 3,251 votes against Dawa’s 1,536.

While Pema Gyamtsho’s EVM votes are twice as much as Dawa’s (2,178 against 1,126), the postal ballot votes were staggering. Some 410 postal ballots were in favour of Dawa against 1,073 postal ballots for Pema Gyamtsho.

In Chhumig-Ura, it was a close contest.

DPT’s Karma Wangchuk, who served the first term from 2008 to 2013, got another opportunity this time after winning by 18 votes.

It was the postal ballot that decided the fate of the candidates in Chhumig-Ura.

Karma Wangchuk secured 1,433 votes against 1,415 votes for DNT’s Phuntsho Namgey.

Phuntsho Namgey actually won the EVM securing 1,010 votes while DPT’s Karma Wangchuk secured only 863 votes. However, when the postal ballots were counted, Karma Wangchuk was leading. He secured 570 postal ballots against 405 for Phuntsho Namgey.

Bumthang saw a voter turn out of 77.6 percent.

Tshering Dorji | Bumthang