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Bhutan's
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Constitution:
Final draft version of the Constitution of Bhutan
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4
August 2007
The
third and final draft version of the Constitution of Bhutan, which will
be posted online, (www.judiciary.gov.bt) has major changes to Articles
pertaining to elections, political parties, parliament and public campaign
financing.
Article
23 on Elections has been bifurcated to "give emphasis on election principles
in one Article and to define the roles and responsibilities of the election
commission under a different Article," said the chairman of the Constitution
drafting Committee, chief justice, Lyonpo Sonam Tobgye.
A
section added to Article 10, pertaining to Parliament, gives the parliament
the authority to remove the immunity of a parliament member. The new section
states that "the concurrence of not less than two-thirds of the total number
of members of each house respectively is required to remove the right of
immunity of a member".
During
the public consultations on the draft Constitution people pointed out that
the immunity provided by section 21 protected parliament members from the
law even if they had resorted to actions that needed to be inquired or
questioned.
Four
new sections have been added to Article 15 on Political Parties. Section
9 states that "no election shall be held where the remainder of the term
of the National Assembly is less than one hundred and eighty days".
Section
11 has been changed and states that "where the ruling party in the
National Assembly stands dissolved or the government is dismissed...the
National Assembly shall also stand dissolved and, accordingly, sections
1 to 8 of this Article shall apply".
Lyonpo
Sonam Tobgye explained that the National Assembly would stand dissolved
if the ruling party gets dissolved. "If the opposition is dissolved the
National Assembly would not dissolve because the ruling party is already
ruling," he said. "A party could stand dissolved either through a majority
of members resigning or by declaration from the Supreme Court."
Section
13 states that "during the election of the opposition party...the National
Assembly shall be suspended animation and the ruing party and their candidates
shall not contest in the elections".
Section
14 pertaining to election of opposition party states that an opposition
party would be elected if the original opposition party stands dissolved
under the Constitution. The new opposition would be elected from the parties
registered with the Election Commission of Bhutan within 60 days from the
date of the dissolution of the original opposition party. The election
will be done under the electoral laws to fill the seats of those constituencies,
which stood vacant on the dissolution of the original opposition party.
A
new section incorporated in the Article 16, Public Campaign Financing,
states that "the Election Commission shall fix a ceiling for contribution
offered voluntarily by any of its registered members to a political party
subject to the provisions of the Election Fund Act."
The
changes made to the final draft were drawn from the direct and indirect
comments made by the people during the public consultations (convention)
on the draft Constitution held in the 20 dzongkhags from October 2005 to
May 2006, said Lyonpo Sonam Tobgye. About 500 comments were also received
both from outside and within the country through various online forums
and in writing.
The
final draft will not be consulted with the public and only the parliament
formed in 2008, which will adopt the Constitution, will have the authority
to make changes. "The final draft will be posted online to let people know
about the changes," said the chief justice.
Lyonpo
Sonam Tobgye said that he was confident that the draft Constitution will
be the life and soul, the guiding light of the Bhutanese people, and the
vision of Bhutan. "This Constitution is a product of peace on a cultured
tradition. It is a crucible of our wisdom and the tradition and culture
that we have inherited and that we believe in," he said.
| This
article was contributed by Ugyen Penjore, Rinzin Wangchuk and Tashi Dorji,
KUENSEL, Bhutan's national newspaper, 2007 |
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