The party will make eight replacements as some of the candidates cannot participate in the next election due to age, some under health ground and some due to personal reasons
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP), which is one of the oldest political parties in the country with experience both as the government and the opposition party, maintained that it is ready for the 2023 elections.
Though the party has been quiet for a while, the PDP confirmed on social media that the party will contest again. The party is also active on social media these days.
In an interview with Business Bhutan, the Secretary General of the PDP, Kuenga Tashi, said the party has unconfirmed candidates in only a few constituencies at the moment, after some of them resigned due to age and others left the party.
“We have received several potential candidates expressing their interest to join PDP, and we have decided to give some time till the end of this year to select the best among many,” he said.
He shared that the party is looking for about eight replacements as some of the candidates cannot participate in the next election due to age, some under health ground and some due to personal reasons, while rest are all with the party.
Talking about if the party will look for more female candidates, he said that the party is seriously looking for female candidates in most of their vacant constituencies.
However, he said that to get women candidates is quite difficult. “We approached many, and a few of them asked for time to decide. We are hopeful that they will agree and join the PDP soon,” he said.
Further, he also said that the election is the bedrock of democracy, and losing is a part of it.
“When given the opportunity to serve both as the ruling and opposition, we went all-out to fulfill the dreams and aspirations of the people. Losing the election is a lesson and an opportunity to rest, reflect, and test other parties. We got five long years to prepare well for the next. We believe that winning continuously is not good for democracy. Although we are very much optimistic, we cannot predict the election result,” he added.
When asked about PDP being active on social media was one of the strategies of the party preparing to garner votes for the coming elections, Kuenga Tashi denied and said that the party is not thinking about votes at the moment.
“But like we said many times before, it is our responsibility to take part in a democracy and provide constructive feedback and suggestions. As a political institution, our responsibility is to remind the government and share alternative views on any critical issues,” he said.
Chencho Dema from Punakha
