Thinley Namgay

Of the 5,463 postal ballots (PB) issued for the voters of Lhuentse’s two constituencies, 2,688 PBs have arrived at the dzongkhag election office as of January 4. 

Of that,  2,861 ballots are for Maenbi-Tsaenkhar, and 2,602 for Gangzur-Minjey constituencies. 

From Maenbi-Tsaenkhar, 1,445 PBs have arrived, while Gangzur-Minjey saw 1,243. 

In addition to the in-country PBs, 105 were delivered overseas, comprising 54 for Maenbi-Tsaenkhar and 51 for Gangzur-Minjey. Only one PB had returned as of yesterday from overseas, which is from Gangzur-Minjey constituency.   

For the general election in Lhuentse, the number of voters opting for PB has dropped. In the primary round, around 6,000 PBs were issued.  

In Lhuentse, there are 271 persons with disabilities (PWDs) who have registered for special early voting. As of January 4, 160 PWDs had voted. 

Eight groups of officials have been traveling around eight gewogs to facilitate special early voting for PWDs. In the primary election, 174 PWDs registered for early voting.  

Lhuenste has 30 polling stations. The two-day refresher course for 120 election officials began at Lhuentse HSS yesterday. 

Election officials in Lhuentse applaud the fact that no offenses have occurred in the common forums.  

Officials said that the voter turnout in the general election in Lhuentse might increase, considering its past records. “Voter turnout in all its past national assembly elections exceeded 60 percent.”

Lhuentse, with two constituencies, has a total of 18,738 registered voters, including 9,872 females and 8,866 males.