Type Lower house | Seats 47 | |
 | ||
Speaker of the National Assembly Jigme Zangpo, PDP
Since 02 August 2013 Political groups Government:
PDP (32)
Opposition:
DPT (15) Voting system First-past-the-post voting Last election 31 May 2013 and 13 July 2013 | ||
The National Assembly is the elected lower house of Bhutan's new bicameral Parliament which also comprises the Druk Gyalpo (Dragon King) and the National Council. It is the more powerful house.
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Current National Assembly
The current National Assembly has 47 members, who were elected in the first ever general elections on March 24, 2008. Jigme Thinley's Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) Party won a landslide victory, securing 45 seats. The People's Democratic Party (PDP) won the other two, but its leader Sangay Ngedup lost the election in his constituency.
Under the 2008 Constitution, the National Assembly consists of a maximum of 55 members directly elected by the citizens of constituencies within each Dzongkhag (District). (Art. 12) Under this single-winner voting system, each constituency is represented by a single National Assembly member; each of the 20 Dzongkhags must be represented by between 2–7 members. Constituencies are reapportioned every 10 years. (Art. 12, §§ 1–2) The National Assembly meets at least twice a year, and elects a Speaker and Deputy Speaker from among its members. Members and candidates are allowed to hold political party affiliation.
The 2013 National Assembly election resulted in a large swing to the PDP, who will hold 32 seats to the DPT's 15 when the new assembly convenes.
History
The National Assembly was originally decreed in 1953 by King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck. The National Assembly began as a unicameral parliament within the King's framework for democratization. In 1971, King Jigme Dorji empowered the National Assembly to remove him or any of his successors with a two-thirds majority. The procedure for abdication remains a part of Bhutan's Constitution of 2008, with the addition of a three-fourth majority in a joint sitting of Parliament (i.e., including the National Council) to confirm the involuntary abdication as well as a national referendum to finalize it. (Art. 2)