Former Bhutan PM Tshering Tobgay's party wins election

The party of Bhutan's former prime minister Tshering Tobgay won general elections with nearly two-thirds of seats in parliament, local media reported Tuesday, based on preliminary results from each constituency.

Tobgay's People's Democratic Party (PDP) "wins the 2024 National Assembly general elections with 30 seats" while the Bhutan Tendrel Party (BTP) took the remaining 17, The Bhutanese newspaper reported.

There was no immediate confirmation from the Election Commission, which is expected to release final results on Wednesday, according to an official timetable published ahead of the polls.

The election was dominated by serious economic challenges that have called into question the Himalayan kingdom's longstanding policy of prioritising "Gross National Happiness" over growth.

Both parties are committed to a constitutionally enshrined philosophy of a government that measures its success by the "happiness and well-being of the people".

Tobgay is now expected to become premier for the second time. He was leader of the opposition in Bhutan's first parliament when it was established in 2008, soon after the start of the reign of the present king.

The 58-year-old, a former civil servant and a passionate conservation advocate who holds a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and a master's in public administration from Harvard, then served as prime minister from 2013 to 2018.

Some voters had to trek for days to cast their ballots in the landlocked mountain nation of about 800,000 people, similar in area to Switzerland.