Bhutanese people will once again go to the polls to choose their National Council (NC) candidates tomorrow (April 20, 2018). But doesn't it seem just like yesterday that we elected the current batch of NC members? This is impermanence in action. An end of one thing is the beginning of another. This year’s NC election is significant for two reasons. First, compared to the previous two elections, this year we have as many as 127 candidates contesting for 20 seats in the Upper House. In the second NC elections, we had 67. In 2008, the number was only 52. Although more candidates would cost more to the state it is a healthy symptom. It means people are now confident and think of leaving their footprints in our democratic process. More is more. Our people are given more choices. Secondly, Election Commission of Bhutan (ECB) tried something new this year to allow more Bhutanese to vote. In the past, civil servants and armed forces had postal ballot facilities. Earlier
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