I thought that the least one can do to appreciate the endeavours of those who actively participate in national politics and democratic governance was to attend the General Assembly of a Political Party as an observer ( if such is permitted by a Political Party ).
DNT was holding its General Assembly today the 13th May, 2018 at RIM Hall, Simtokha, Thimphu. And there was open invitation for all in fb. Thus I took the opportunity to have a look.
Turned out to be well organised and well attended too. The Secretary General and the President spoke eloquently. Between the two, one can imagine the rough and tough trail of a Bhutanese Political Party inspirations and formative years. An idea that spun inbetween friends at an eatery serving momos and that peaked with participation in the Primary Election in 2013. The crash that followed and again getting back on feet under a new President and same General Secretary.
Today Dr. Tandin Dorji the President and Mr.Tenzin Lekphel the General Secretary of Druk Nymrup have every reasons to beam and take pride as they gazed from the stage towards the packed hall of over 1500 gatherings and near about 47 candidates seated in the front rows.
Inbetween there were several speakers explaining their reasons for joining the Party and their individual faith in Dr. Lotey Tshering the Presidential nominee. DNT did a good job in displaying clips of royal speeches that it believes provides inspirations and guidance to the Party's objectives and goals.
The Party's goal is to close the gap between the rich and the poor. The statistics given is that 90% of Bhutan's wealth belongs to 10% of population. And among that about 110 people ( or was it families? ) is supposed to own most of the 90% of wealth according to DNT. I have no idea about statistics but I do agree that there is much to do to raise the living standard of many Bhutanese families. And national resources are concentrated among handful of groups.
No, DNT is not talking about repeating Chairman Mao's cultural and social revolution in Bhutan. The stated aim is to raise up the condition of havenots. I guess
the way forward will be spelt out in the actual campaign but the wealth of the top 10% will not be confisticated according to Dr. Tandin Dorji. But now the new President is Dr. Lotey Tshering. And I did not stay to listen to him. I thought it would not be proper for an individual private observer to witness the Party President and Vice President election process and gauge the mood of the congregation as the newly elected President gave his acceptance speech and the way forward. That is completely an internal Party affair which will be shared publicly in good time by the Party.
I used the tea break interval to examine the seating capacity of the RIM Hall for future information and later left as DNT members were getting ready to cast " Yes " and " No" votes for Dr. Lotey Tshering the only Presidential nominee and for Dasho Sherab Gyeltshen the only Vice Presidential nominee. I just hope no one would be so crazy to cast a " no " vote. The excited mood of the gathering plus so much efforts devoted to accomplish what was achieved in hosting this Meet, deserved 100% yes votes for the candidates.
PS. Some readers who follow me maybe wondering how I came about attending the DNT Meet after having opposed DNT Court case against the Government. Well, I have no special love or distaste for any Political Party. Just my respects. I still feel that DNT or any other Party is wrong in taking the Government to Court during the time the Kingdom was facing national sovereignty Doklam Crisis. Party supporters of any Party can never see but their own reflections. So for those non-party supporters of DNT and PDP, let me reproduce the following Constitutional Clause.
Article 18
The Opposition Party
Clause 6
" The Opposition Party shall aid and support the Government in times of external threat, natural calamities and such other national crisis when the security and national interest of the country is at stake."
Let alone any other Party or individual, even the Opposition Party is mandated to stand with the ruling Party in times of national crisis. Thus Court cases must await national crisis to passover.
Like Mr. Sonam Tobgay of BKP, I feel Dr. Tandin Dorji and Mr.Tenzin Lekphel have devoted so much time and effort to keep the DNT Party afloat. Such endeavours deserve respect whether one is a member of a Party or not. Hereafter, the show is led by new Presidents in whom the Party members and leaders have reposed their faith. And that has been how history have evolved over the centuries and Bhutanese politics is no different. And as an observer today, I wish Dr. Lotey Tshering and Dasho Sherab Gyeltshen successful leadership of DNT Party.
No comments:
Post a Comment