Bhutan

Democratic Governance

Bhutan made its successful transition to a Democratic Constitutional Monarchy in March 2008. Its first ever written Constitution came into force in July 2008 and paved the way for the establishment of an elected Parliament.

Promoting decentralization with the purpose of empowering people and ensuring a balanced, equitable and sustainable socio-economic development continue to be effectively enhanced in the 10th Five Year Plan (FYP 2008-2013) of the government.

Today UNDP continues to support national efforts towards democratization and decentralization through capacity and institution development of constitutional bodies such as the Election Commission of Bhutan, Anti-Corruption Commission, Parliament, Royal Audit Authority, Royal Court of Justice, Office of the Attorney General, local governments, and the media to help build a firm foundation for the smooth functioning of a democratically elected government.

Democractic governance intervention to the government is broadly categorized under three components a. democratic institutions, local governance and decentralization and civil society and media.

Ongoing Projects

• Local Governance Support Programme
• Integration of Gross National Happiness Indicators
• Support for Strengthening the Institutional Capacity of Parliament of Bhutan
• Establishment of a National legal Institute for the Royal Court of Justice
• Strengthened Institutional Capacity of the Election Commission of Bhutan
• Institutional and Human Capacity Building of the ACC and RAA
• UN Support to Localisation of e-governance