Bhutan

3rd International Democracy Day Observed in Bhutan

International Democracy Day was observed in Bhutan on September 15, 2010 jointly organized by the Parliament of Bhutan and UNDP, and facilitated by the Institute of Management Studies (IMS). Lyonpo Yeshey Zimba, Minister in Charge of the Cabinet and Minister for Works and Human Settlement, was the Chief Guest.  The Members of Parliament including the Speaker of the National Assembly and the Chairperson of the National Council, the Chairperson of the Privy Council, the Chief Election Commissioner, representatives from UN and other multilateral and bilateral organizations, media, constitutional authorities, civil society, and senior civil servants were present to observe the day.

The programme of the event included a statement by UN Resident Coordinator; a presentation of views on democracy by a farmers' representative and a student; the award of prizes to the winners of the school essay competition on the Bhutanese democracy; and the screening of a documentary film entitled "Voices of Democracy" capturing the reflections and aspirations of the general public on Bhutan's recent democratic transformation.

A central point of the commemoration was the launch of the report of the Regional Conference on Deepening and Sustaining Democracy in Asia held in Bhutan in October 2009. The book entitled "Beyond the Ballot Box" serves as both a record of the proceedings of the Conference as well as the repository to the wealth of resource materials presented at the forum that gathered representatives of 12 countries from South Asia and the greater Asian region and eminent international scholars and practitioners.

The commemoration of the 3^rd International Democracy Day also coincided with the inauguration of a two-day workshop on "Democracy and Good Governance" targeting Members of the Parliament and its staff along with senior civil servants who were sensitized on international models of Parliamentary Democracy to enrich the democratic discourse in the Bhutanese context.