The Chief Election Commissioner, Dasho Kunzang Wangdi, said that local government elections will not be partisan elections like the parliamentary elections. Administrative decision and development administration bodies will be elected and not lawmaking bodies like the National Assembly and National Council. A candidate to the local government should be functionally literate and possess skills adequate for discharging his duties. “I am hopeful more graduates will contest these elections as it would be a sound foundation for parliamentary positions,” said Dasho Kunzang.

The local government elections will be conducted in two categories. First up will be the election of Gup, Mangmi and Gewog Tshogpas followed by the election of Thrompon, Dzongkhag Tshogdu Thromde and Yenla Thromde and Thromde Tshogdes.

The election procedure will be the same as the parliamentary elections. The constituencies are smaller but many in numbers with more resources. They will also be directly answerable to the voters and their constituencies.

According to the Local Governments’ Act, a candidate to or an elected member of the local governments shall not belong to any political party. However, last week, the house emained divided on the issue of whether parliamentarians should be involved in the functioning of the local leaders. In doing so, many were of the opinion that this might politicise the local governments.

“Candidates contesting for local government elections are non partisan. If we allow that, the local governments will be politicised and this will undermine the effectiveness of local government to a great extent,” said Dasho Kunzang.

The local government must ensure that the priority commitment of the parties are included in the national, dzongkhag and geog Plans. Parliament and parties must ensure that the plan and activities of the local government receive support and just access to national resources, he said.

For the MPs and the local leaders to work together, Dasho Kunzang said they could complement and supplement their involvements so that conflict and clashes are avoided. They must always abide by the provisions of the Constitution and other laws of the land.

Trashigang Dzongda, Dorji Norbu said that the elected local leaders should be apolitical. The involvement of the parliamentarians would mix the legislative and executive issues and thereby disturb the executive works.

“On one hand, we talk about eradicating poverty and, if we mix the two arms of the government, we cannot root out corruption,” he said, adding that once the developmental plans are decided, it should be left to the local governments to
execute it.

The Thimphu Dzongda Chencho Tshering said that the three distinct tiers of the government should remain distinct. However, there should be linkages between the MPs and the local governments for which some clear-cut procedures has to be developed. “I am in full support of the Local Governments’ Act,” he said.

The opposition leader, Tshering Togbay, said the move would not only politicise the local governments but it was undoing the successors of decentralisation that His Majesty the Fourth King has accomplished thereby undermining the principles of decentralisation that the constitution was based on. He suggested that parliamentarians and the local leaders work together at three levels; general level to maintain links with the constituencies including the local governments, interaction at the planning stage where the developmental plans are formulated and interaction at the implementation stage to ensure that developmental plans are mplemented by the local leaders.

“Getting involved in their functions would only mean usurping power that has been decentralised,” Tshering Tobgay
said.

Source: http://www.bhutanobserver.bt