Thimphu Dzongkhag, which had only two nominees for the National Council (NC) election 2023, saw a dismal voter turnout, according to the results shared by the Election Commission of Bhutan (ECB).
Out of the 16,429 registered voters in the dzongkhag, only 7,148 casted their vote, accounting for only 43% of eligible voters turning up to vote. Meanwhile, the total registered EVM voters accounted for 14,385 votes, of which only 5,453 cast their vote, and out of the total registered Postal Ballot (PB) of 2044, the Dzongkhag received 1,695 PB.
The rejected postal ballot was not included. Thimphu Dzongkhag had 27 polling stations.
Meanwhile, Lhuentse Dzongkhag follows Thimphu Dzongkhag in terms of low voter turnout. Only 49% eligible voters turned out to vote in Lhuentse; out of a total of 18,479 registered voters, only 9,114 voted in Lhuentse.
Additionally, the Dzongkhag received 4,636 PB out of a total registered 5091, and only 4,478 came to the facilitation booth in the district to vote, despite having a total of 13,388 EVMs registered.
Lhuentse Dzongkhag had 30 polling station across eight gewogs.
In other Dzongkhagsโ voter turnout ranged from 50% to 55% of the registered voters. Dzongkhags like Gasa, Wangduephodrang, and Bumthang saw a large number of voter turnout.
Gasa Dzongkhag, which has one of the lowest registered voters in the country, saw a voter turnout of around 78%, which is 1,792 out of the total registered voters of 2,279. Gasa Dzongkhag received 255 PB out of a total registered 285 PB, and 1,737 people in Gasa casted their vote through EVMs, out of the total registered EVMs of 1,994. Gasa Dzongkhag had 11 polling stations.
Likewise, Wangduephodrang also witnessed a big number of voter turnout, with 14,723 voters turning out, which is 65.8% of the total voter registration of 22,370.
Wangduephodrang Dzongkhag received 3,707 PB out of a total registered 4,130 PB, and 11,023 people in Wangdue Phodrang casted their vote through EVMs, out of the total registered EVMs of 18,240. Wangduephodrang had 45 polling stations.
Meanwhile, Bumthang also saw a high number of voter turnout, with 6,642 voters casting their vote out of a total registered 10,924.
Bumthang Dzongkhag received 1,793 PB out of a total registered 1,982, and 6,587 people in Bumthang cast their vote through EVMs, out of the total registered EVMs of 8,942. Bumthang had 18 polling stations.
Additionally, Trashigang, with one of the highest registered voters in the country, also saw huge turnouts, with 32,190 people of Trashigang casting their vote. This means 61.6% of the eligible voters turned out to vote out of 52,177 registered voters.
Trashigang Dzongkhag received 13,939 PB out of a total registered 15,126, and 12,251 people in Trashigang casted their vote through EVMs, out of the total registered EVMs of 37,051. Trashigang had 71 polling stations.
Tshering Pelden from Thimphu
