Jo Johnson: Bhutan in pictures

Jo Johnson, the Financial Times’ South Asia bureau chief, travelled to Bhutan to watch the mock elections that were held on Saturday. The unusual exercise in civics was held to familiarise the largely rural population of less than 1m with the mechanics of democracy.

In a rare instance of an absolute ruler voluntarily signing away power to the people, King Jigme Singye Wangcheck, the fourth in a line that has ruled Bhutan since 1907, has set in motion a transition to democracy that will culminate with a real general election in June 2008.

In Saturday’s election, over 50 per cent of eligible voters turned out to vote. In a sign of the kingdom’s reluctant embrace of democracy, over 40 per cent of them voted in support of a dummy party sporting the royal colour, Druk Yellow, that advocated a staunch defense of the country’s monarchical traditions.

Click here to read the story about the mock elections:
Bhutanese show distaste for democracy