Young farmer elected gup of Goenshari gewog

Chencho Dema

Punakha—Ugyen Dorji, a 34-year-old farmer from Zhelngosa village, has been elected the new gup of Goenshari gewog in Punakha following a closely contested bye-election held on Sunday.

Ugyen Dorji won with 252 votes, including 39 postal ballots, defeating 52-year-old Yeshi Dorji of Yorbu chiwog, who garnered 180 votes, 46 of which were cast via postal ballots.

The bye-election was held after the gewog’s former gup, Wangchuk, passed away in February after a prolonged illness.

Only two candidates vied for the post.

Ugyen Dorji had contested and lost in the previous Local Government election and his decision to participate in the bye-election was driven by a desire to inspire younger generations to engage in LG elections.

Yeshi Dorji, 52-year-old, from Yorbu chiwog also contested in the last last local government election but lost. The 52-year-old had previously served as both Gup and mangmi of the gewog.

Following the election, the final results will be formally declared and submitted to His Majesty. The winning candidate will be awarded the Certificate of Election on April 19.

To ensure transparency, an election petition period will remain open until April 24, allowing any electoral disputes to be formally addressed in accordance with regulations.

Goenshari gewog had five polling stations for the by-election. Of the 602 registered voters, 39 were male and 54 female. A total of 93 voters cast their votes through postal ballots.