The Parliament of Bhutan has four unique features that sets it apart from other parliaments. First: the return of power to the people after the King willingly signed the Constitution. Second: the establishment of a built-in mechanism for public consultation. Third: recognizing the unique role that Buddhism plays in Bhutan and the need to keep it above politics. Fourth: Parliament’s commitment to always enact policy that never compromises Bhutan’s need to keep at least 60% of its land under forest cover.
After attending a presentation inside the Parliament’s complex, there were two things that stuck out to me. The first was how recently Bhutan formally became a democracy, which was in 2008, after existing as an absolute monarchy since 1907. The second was how actively the Fourth King promoted the cause of democracy and championed the need for reducing the absolute power that the Monarchy has always had. This pursuit of less power by a country’s leader must be a truly rare phenomenon! And very Bhutanese.
Richard K
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