Choki Wangmo 

Four aspiring National Council (NC) candidates from Dagana got through dhamngoi zomdu which ended on March 11.

The candidates from Tseza, Tsendagang, and Drujeygang gewogs will be competing against the incumbent from Gesarling.

Earlier, four  candidates from the dzongkhag withdrew their candidature.

Birendra Chimoria from Tshendagang Gewog secured 91 percent of the total votes from the gewog (550) — 505 “Yes” and 51 “No”. Chimoria has a master’s degree in Health and Physical Education and was working with the Bhutan Football Federation before joining politics.




Dawa, 41, is Drujeygang’s NC candidate. He secured 315 “Yes” and 35 “No” votes. With experiences in IT and management, he worked for three years and four months in NewEdge Technologies Pvt. and as an instructor for six months at the De-suung Skilling Programme. He worked with the Natural Resources Development Corporation Limited as the IT manager for the past nine years.

“I am glad that 315 out of 350 voters supported me. Please continue to support me like this,” he said.

From Pangna, Dawa has a master’s degree in Business Administration from the Royal Institute of Management (RIM).

Dagana’s incumbent NC, Surjaman Thapa, got through the dhamngoi zomdu with 321 “Yes” and 40 “No” votes. The former journalist thanked the voters: “I am thankful to everyone for giving me the opportunity to serve my dzongkhag as your representative for the past five years. I wish to serve you again.”




Tshechu from Tseza secured 300 “Yes” and 39 “No” votes. The 38-year-old is a former lawyer and worked as a teacher for seven years before joining a private law firm for the last five years. He has a post-graduate diploma from RIM and cleared the national bar exam.

The 38-year-old wants to join the House of Review as he thinks his experience in law would help review and amend national laws and policies. “People from my gewog placed their trust in me and I hope I get the same support in the final round.”




Compared with the 2018 elections, the dzongkhag saw a drastic reduction in the number of candidates. In the last election, there were 21 candidates in the primary round from which only 10 made it to the final round.

Dagana has over 27,000 eligible voters and more than 2,500 have turned up for the dhamngoi dzomdu.