At stake in this election:

• 20 seats in the National Council

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: King Jigme Khesar Namgyel WANGCHUCK
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Kinzang DORJI
• Assembly: Bhutan has a bicameral Parliament consisting of the National Council with 25 seats and the National Assembly with 47 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The King is hereditary N/A.
• In the National Council, 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 47 members are elected by majority vote in multi-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms.

* Fifteen seats were fillled in the inital round of voting on 29 December 2008. Another round of elections were held on 29 January 2008 in the remaining five districts where no candidates were found in time for the first round.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Independent(s): Members of the upper house do not represent political parties / n/a
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in this National Council election: 0
  • Seats won in last National Council election: 0

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 672,425 ( 2005 Figure based on 2005 Bhutan Census and is inconsistent with CIA World Factbook results of 2,327,849 (July 2007).)
• Registered Voters: 312,331 (January 2008 )

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 316,481 (2007)

·         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: 6 (National Council) (following 2007 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 132 (2014)

·         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: 100,863 (est.)