Bhutan’s Election Victory: Tshering Tobgay’s Pro-India Stance and Implications for Regional Dynamics

GS Paper II International Relations

Context:

Tshering Tobgay and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) won the runoff election in Bhutan

Runoff Voting

Tobgay, is a conservationist and former civil servant and served as prime minister of Bhutan earlier from 2013 to 2018.
Newly-elected Tobgay is considered pro-India and thus is expected to be a major boost to India’s regional strategic concerns.

Runoff Voting is also known as a two round system (TRS). Runoff Voting is a voting method used to elect a single candidate when a second election must be held because the first election did not reach the necessary threshold of votes needed for a candidate to win.
The election process usually proceeds to a second round only if in the first round no candidate received a simple majority (more than 50%) of votes cast or some other lower prescribed percentage.

Beginning: Bhutan transitioned from a monarchy to a parliamentary democracy in 2008. The nation is still ruled in the name of the monarch. Still, the King holds little actual political authority.
Deepening of Democracy:

- The recent race saw five candidates compared to two in initial elections.
- Compared to past elections, candidates had specific promises and positions this time, giving voters a genuine choice.
Problems: Challenges like media censorship, discrimination against religious and linguistic minorities and lack of accountability among the politicians still remain.

Challenges: Bhutan has shown strong inclinations to resolve its border issue with China, despite no formal diplomatic relations, a concern for India.
Opportunity: It is a chance for India to showcase how its approach to neighbors differs from China’s debt trap. It will be important given the rising anti-India sentiment in neighbors.

Additional Reading: India-Bhutan Relations

Source: Indian Express