Member states may discuss Bhutan’s nomination at a SAARC meeting on September 25 in New York
Bhutan has proposed Dasho Sonam Topgay, former Chief Election Commissioner of Bhutan, as the next Secretary General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), potentially placing a Bhutanese diplomat at the helm of the regional grouping as it continues to grapple with a prolonged political deadlock.
The nomination comes as the current Secretary General, Golam Sarwar of Bangladesh, approaches the end of his three-year term in October. Under SAARC’s established alphabetical rotation system, it is Bhutan’s turn to nominate the next Secretary General.
According to diplomatic sources, Bhutan submitted Dasho Sonam Topgay’s name to the SAARC Secretariat in early August and is now seeking the concurrence of other member states. The nomination could be discussed at a SAARC meeting scheduled for September 25 in New York, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
If the other seven member states agree to Bhutan’s nomination, Dasho Sonam Topgay is expected to assume office by the end of October.
Reviving the SAARC process, particularly efforts to convene a summit, is therefore expected to be among the most significant challenges confronting the next Secretary General.
The Secretary General plays an important role in facilitating coordination among member states and advancing the organisation’s regional agenda. However, the broader political environment among SAARC members has repeatedly constrained efforts to restore high-level engagement.
Dasho Sonam Topgay brings more than 38 years of government service to the proposed regional assignment. He served as the country’s Chief Election Commissioner of Bhutan until completing his term in 2025.
A senior civil servant with extensive experience in administration, law and order, local governance and electoral management, Dasho held several senior positions during his career.
He served in the Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs, where his responsibilities included serving as Home Secretary and Director General of the Department of Law and Order. He also served as Director General of the Department of Civil Registration and Census and the Department of Local Governance, as well as Joint Director and Officer in the Bureau of Law and Order.
His government career in these positions spanned the period from 1986 to 2005, before he later took on senior responsibilities in Bhutan’s electoral administration.
Dasho Sonam Topgay holds a bachelor’s degree with honours in political science, completed between 1982 and 1985, and a master’s degree in public administration, completed between 1992 and 1994.
He also holds a diploma in French from the University of Clermont-Ferrand in France and a diploma in human rights reporting from the United Nations Centre for Human Rights and the International Labour Organization in Turin, Italy.
As a member of Bhutan’s senior civil service, he underwent training for IAS probationers at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie, India, between 1987 and 1989.
He was also awarded the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship at the University of Minnesota in the United States in 2005-06. During the113th National Day, Dasho Sonam Topgay was awarded Bura-Marp by His Majesty the King, for his utmost dedication and services to the country and the people.
His extensive administrative experience, international exposure and work in electoral governance could provide a broad institutional background for the proposed regional role.
If appointed, one of Dasho’s immediate challenges would be helping SAARC regain momentum after years of limited political engagement.
The organisation comprises Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, although political differences among member states have severely affected its ability to convene at the highest level.
For Bhutan, securing consensus for its nominee would therefore represent more than a routine leadership transition. It would place a Bhutanese candidate at the centre of efforts to navigate one of the region’s most persistent multilateral challenges.
The September 25 meeting in New York could provide the first indication of whether member states will support Bhutan’s nomination. If consensus is reached, Dasho Sonam Topgay would take over at a particularly consequential moment for SAARC, inheriting the difficult task of helping restore dialogue and momentum to an organisation that has remained largely stalled at the political level for years.
Tashi Namgyal, Thimphu
