National Assembly (Bhutan)

National Assembly

རྒྱལ་ཡོངས་ཚོགས་འདུ་
*Gyelyong Tshogdu*
National Assembly ; རྒྱལ་ཡོངས་ཚོགས་འདུ་; Gyelyong Tshogdu
Type
Type	Lower house
Leadership
Speaker	Lungten Dorji, PDP ; since 25 January 2024
Deputy Speaker	Sangay Khandu, PDP ; since 25 January 2024
Leader of the House	Tshering Tobgay ; Prime Minister of Bhutan, PDP ; since 28 January 2024
Leader of the Opposition	Ugyen Wangchuk, BTP ; since 3 February 2024
Structure
Seats	47
Political groups	Government (30) PDP (30); Opposition (17) BTP (17);
Elections
Voting system	Modified two-round system
Last election	30 November 2023 and 9 January 2024
Meeting place
	Gyelyong Tshokhang, Thimphu (Here shown, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India addressing a joint session of the Parliament in 2014.)
Website
	http://www.nab.gov.bt/

27°29′23.2″N 89°38′17.5″E / 27.489778°N 89.638194°E / 27.489778; 89.638194

The National Assembly is the elected lower house of Bhutan's bicameral Parliament which also comprises the Druk Gyalpo (Dragon King) and the National Council (upper house).

Current National Assembly

The current National Assembly has 47 members, first elected in the inaugural general election on March 24, 2008. Jigme Thinley's Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) Party won a landslide victory, securing 45 seats. The People's Democratic Party (PDP) won the other two,^[1] but its leader, Sangay Ngedup, lost the election in his constituency.^[2]

Under the 2008 Constitution, Article 12, section 1, the National Assembly consists of a maximum of 55 members directly elected by the citizens of constituencies within each Dzongkhag (District).^[3] Under this single-winner voting system, each constituency is represented by a single National Assembly member; each of the 20 Dzongkhags must be represented by between 2–7 members. Constituencies are reapportioned every 10 years (Art. 12, § 2).^[3] The National Assembly meets at least twice a year (Art. 12, § 5), and elects a Speaker and Deputy Speaker from among its members (Art. 12, § 3). Members and candidates are allowed to hold political party affiliation.

The 2013 National Assembly election resulted in large increase in percentage of PDP members, who held 32 seats to the DPT's 15 when the new assembly was convened.^[4]

In the 2018 National Assembly election, PDP did not qualify for the elections. DNT saw a rise of 30 seats, thus becoming the majority party in the Assembly. DPT, which won 17 seats, became the opposition.

In the 2023–24 Bhutanese National Assembly election, both incumbent parliamentary parties failed to win seats. PDP returned as the majority party, while the new BTP became the opposition.

History

The National Assembly was originally decreed in 1953 by King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck. The National Assembly began as a unicameral parliament within the King's framework for democratization. In 1971, King Jigme Dorji empowered the National Assembly to remove him or any of his successors with a two-thirds majority. The procedure for abdication remains a part of Bhutan's Constitution of 2008, with the addition of a three-fourths majority in a joint sitting of Parliament (i.e., including the National Council) to confirm the involuntary abdication as well as a national referendum to finalize it.^[3] (Art. 2)

Electoral system

The 47 members of the National Assembly are elected from single-member constituencies. Primary elections are held in which voters cast votes for parties. The top two parties are then able to field candidates in the main round of voting, in which members are elected using first-past-the-post voting.^[5]

Speakers

Complete list of speakers of the National Assembly.^[6]

Name	Entered Office	Left Office
Dasho Kesang Dawa	1953	1955
Dasho Thinley Dorji	1956	1963
Dasho Tamji Jagar	1964	1965
Nidup Yanglop	1966	1968
Dasho Kesang Dawa	1969	1971
Dasho Shingkhar Lam	1971	1974
Nidup Yanglop	1974	1977
Dasho Tamji Jagar	1977	1988
Lyonpo Sangye Penjor	1988	1989
Dasho Passang Dorji	1989	1997
Lyonpo Kinzang Dorji	1997	2000
Dasho Ugyen Dorji	2000	2007
Lyonpo Jigme Tshultim	2008	2013
Lyonpo Jigme Zangpo	2013	2018
Lyonpo Wangchuk Namgyel	2018	Present

Constituencies

The National Assembly, the lower of the Parliament of Bhutan, consists Members of Parliament (MPs). Each MP represents a single geographic constituency.^[7] Currently, there are 47 National Assembly constituencies.^[8]^[9] Out of the 20 dzongkhags of Bhutan, Trashigang, with five constituencies, has the highest number of National Assembly constituencies. Samtse, with four constituencies, has the second highest number of National Assembly constituencies. Mongar and Pema Gatshel, with three constituencies each, share the third highest position. All of the other 16 dzongkhags have two constituencies each.