Rinzin during one of his campaigns in Lhuentse

30 January, 2008 - For the people of Lhuentse, the heartland of the Royal dynasty, it was a straightforward election, to accept or not the dzongkhag’s only candidate to the National Council.

The dzongkhag elected Rinzin, 39, from Goenpa Karp in Khoma gewog, notably famed for its weavers and special textiles and fabrics, generally considered to be the best in the country.

Lhuentse dzongkhag, about 77 kilometers from Mongar, saw only 4,046 voters of 12,041 registered at its 38 polling stations. 148 were postal ballots.

Of the total votes cast, 3,308 pushed the ‘yes’ button. Only two postal ballots out of 148 were against him.

The voter turnout, according to election officials, were affected by the cold and harsh weather. In some parts of the dzongkhag like Dungkar, Tsango and Gangla, voters were discouraged from walking up to their polling stations by the heavy snowfall.

Most voters Kuensel spoke to on their way to the polling stations said that, since they had no choice in candidates, they decided to elect the one who stepped forward and showed interest in the job.

“Besides being the only candidate, he seems competent enough to represent the dzongkhag,” said Namgay Tshencho, 29 from Magar village in Gangzur. His friend, 32 year old Kinzang from Khoma called upon the numerous graduates from his gewog who did not consider competing for the NC seat to give people better choice of candidates. “There is not a single graduate from my village,” said Kinzang. “How disheartening to see only one graduate from a dzongkhag which associates itself with royal lineage.” The dzongkhag’s NC elect, Rinzin, said he was confident right from the beginning about winning the election, even if the dzongkhag had other candidates vying for the same seat.

“Looking at the way people of the numerous villages and gewogs responded during my familiarization tour, victory seemed assured,” said Rinzin.

Now that he got elected, Rinzin said that his long awaited dream of becoming a representative, with authority, of his people had been fulfilled. “The next stride would be to fulfill the hopes and expectations of my people who so gullibly accepted me as their representative.”

“I am very grateful to the people of Lhuntse for believing in me,” said Rinzin. “All those anxiety I felt for the last five months has faded only to be taken over by how best I can serve my people as a national council candidate.”