Dechen Dolkar

As of Monday, 131 aspirants had registered with the Election Commission of Bhutan (ECB) to contest in the upcoming National Council (NC) elections.

The registration of the aspiring candidates for the seminar, which will be held on October 21, began on September 1.

According to the ECB record, there are so far 125 male and six female aspiring NC candidates.

Sarpang has the highest number of aspiring candidates—17.

The director of ECB and spokesperson, Phub Dorji, said that the seminar for aspiring NC candidates will be conducted on Friday in Thimphu.

The seminar is expected to orient them about the requirements for contesting elections and deepen their understanding of the electoral processes, specifically related to the fourth NC elections.

Phub Dorji said that it was initially planned that the seminars would be conducted region-wise, but most of the aspiring candidates are in Thimphu.

The director said that during the seminar, besides election rules and regulations, campaign funds and rules and regulations of the campaign, they will be briefed on the process of elections and the functions of NC.

“We want to make them understand clearly what council members are supposed to do,” Phub Dorji said.

The current NC was constituted on May 10, 2018. Their five-year term will end tentatively on May 9, 2023.

The incumbent members can recontest without resigning, according to the NC Act. The Constitution states that NC should be re-constituted on the date of expiry of the term.