Lhakpa Quendren

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) secured a landslide victory in Sarpang and Zhemgang constituencies during the primary round of the fourth parliamentary election yesterday.

In the Shompangkha constituency of Sarpang, the PDP secured a landslide victory with 3,758 votes, including 1,107 postal votes, followed by the Bhutan Tendrel Party (BTP) with 1,586 votes, including 383 postal votes.

Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) secured the third place with 1,065 votes, followed by Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa (DNT) with 959 votes, and Druk Thuendrel Tshogpa (DTT) received 700 votes.

PDP achieved a landslide victory in the Gelephu constituency, securing 3,582 votes through electronic voting machines (EVM) and 2,045 through postal ballots. DPT secured 2,399 votes, BTP won 2,261 votes, and DTT achieved 782 votes.

The situation is no different for both constituencies in Zhemgang. In the Bardo-Trong constituency, PDP garnered 3,632 votes, including 1,999 postal votes, while DPT followed with 1,786 votes, including 786 postal votes.

BTP secured 859 votes to secure the third position, followed by DTT with 679 votes and DNT with 623 votes.

For the first time, the PDP secured victory in the Panbang constituency with 2,628 votes, closely trailed by DPT with 2,104 votes. PDP garnered 1,311 votes through the EVMs and 1,317 postal votes, while DPT secured 1,168 EVM votes and 936 postal votes. BTP achieved 623 votes, DNT won 375 votes, and DTT won 261 votes.

Panbang constituency has 8,746 registered voters, of which 4,292 are female. The voter turnout is 5,991, including 2,822 postal votes.

DPT’s President, Dorji Wangdi, and DTT’s Panbang candidate, Karma Dema, are close relatives, leading many voters to believe that the votes could be divided among their supporters.

A voter in Panbang said constituents have realized that being under the opposition party has brought no advantages. “For three consecutive elections, we have supported the DPT. As a party in the Opposition, development is scarce in the constituencies.”

Another said that DPT should gracefully accept their first-time loss in the elections. “Having been provided ample time to serve in both ruling and opposition parties, they should take this outcome positively.”