At stake in this election:

• 47 seats in the National Assembly (Gyelyong Tshogdu)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: King Jigme Khesar Namgyel WANGCHUCK
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Tsehring TOBGAY**
• Assembly: Bhutan has a bicameral Parliament (Chi Tshog) consisting of the National Council (Gyelyong Tshogde) with 25 seats and the National Assembly (Gyelyong Tshogdu) with 47 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The King is hereditary head of state.
• Prime Minister is appointed by the ruling party.
• In the National Council (Gyelyong Tshogde), 20 members are elected by majority vote in single-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms and 5 members are appointed by the monarch to serve 5-year terms*. In the National Assembly (GyelyongTshogdu) 47 members are elected by majority vote in single-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms.**

* Members of the upper house National Council cannot belong to any political party.

** Members of the lower house National Assembly represent political parties.

Main parties in the electoral race:*

• Party: Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT)
  • Leader: Pema GYAMTSHO
  • Seats won in last National Assembly election: 15
• Party: Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa (DNT)
  • Leader: Lotay TSHERING
  • Seats won in last National Assembly election: 0
• Party: People’s Democratic Party (PDP)
  • Leader: Tshering TOBGAY
  • Seats won in last National Assembly election: 32
• Party: Bhutan Kuen-Nyanmrup Tshogpa (BKP)
  • Leader: Neten ZANGMO
  • Seats won in last National Assembly election: 0

* DNT and DPT won the first round of elections. A run-off will be held 18 October.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 917,054 (2018 est.)
• Registered Voters: 381,790 (2013) 

Gender Data:

• Female Population: 383,857 (2018 est.)
• Is Bhutan a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980)
• Has Bhutan ratified CEDAW: Yes (31 August 1981)
• Gender Quota: No
• Female candidates in this election: Yes
• Number of Female Parliamentarians: 4 (National Assembly); 4 (National Council)
• Human Development Index Position: 134 (2018)
• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Low (2014)

Disability Data:

• Is Bhutan a signatory to CRPD: Yes (21 September 2010)
• Has Bhutan ratified CRPD: No
• Population with a disability: 111,288 (2018 est.)