Thinley Namgay 

Mongar nominated seven candidates including two women to contest in the upcoming National Council (NC) election.

A total of 3,119 voters turned up for the dhamngoi zomdus between February 28 and March 8 in 25 venues.

Jigme Tenzin, 58, from Shermuhoong secured 344 votes out of the 539 voters while his opponent, Chimi Dorji got 195 votes. Jigme Tenzin holds a bachelor’s in human resources and post graduate diploma in leadership communication.  He served 22 years in the then Ministry of Labour and Human Resources and 10 years in various overseas agencies.

The incumbent NC member, Sonam Pelzom is the nominee from Tsamang gewog.  She secured 411 votes while her opponent Tshering Dorji managed 284 votes out of 695 voters who attended the dhamngoi zomdu.

Sonam Pelzom holds a bachelor’s in Dzongkha and Geography. Before she contested in the 2018 elections, she worked as a teacher for five years.




Tashi Penjor, 37, is the NC candidate from Ngatshang gewog.  He got 475 Yes votes out of the 531 votes cast. Tashi Penjor has a Master’s in Business Administration from Canberra, Australia. He worked in corporations for more than 11 years and two years in the private sector.

Dorji Wangmo is an aspiring candidate from Gongdue.  She got 287 Yes votes out of 315 votes at the dhamngoi zomdu.

Dorji Wangmo has a Master’s in Management from the University of Canberra, Australia, and a Bachelor of English (Hons) from Sherubtse College. She worked at Natural Resources Development Corporation Limited for more than 21 years in various capacities and resigned as a general manager.




Tshering Dorji, 36, from Chagsakhar, got 391 Yes votes out of the 485 votes cast. He has a bachelor’s in business management from Tamil Nadu, India. He was a businessman. He contested as a People’s Democratic Party candidate in 2013 National Assembly elections, and 2018 NC elections. He also participated in the 2021 local government election.

Tshering Wangchen, 43, is contesting from Narang. He got 337 Yes votes out of 375 votes during the dhamngoi zomdu. He has a bachelor’s (Hons) in Dzongkha. For 16 years, he worked in various organisations starting with teaching and the private sector. Tshering Wangchen also contested in the 2013 and 2018 NC elections.

Chhimi Dorji, 56, from Kengkhar secured 150 Yes votes out of 179 votes during the dhamngoi zomdu.  He has a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Canberra, Australia. For 32 years, he worked at the Department of Energy as an electrical engineer in various capacities under different renewable energy projects and programmes.

In the 2018 NC election, there were 13 aspiring candidates from Mongar.