Bhutan People's Unity Party

Bhutan People's Unity Party
LeaderYeshey Zimba;[1]
Sigay Dorji (breakaway)[2]
ChairmanSigay Dorji
Founded2006;[3]
September 2007 (breakaway)[4]
Dissolved25 July 2007;[5]
November 2007[6]
Split fromBhutan Peace and Prosperity Party[7]
Merged intoBhutan Peace and Prosperity Party
HeadquartersThimphu
IdeologyConservatism[3]

The Bhutan People's Unity Party, also called Druk People's Unity Party (PUP), is a former Bhutanese political party. It was founded by regional and national cadres (chimi and Royal Advisory Councilors) serving in Bhutan's pre-democratic government.[1] Led by former minister (assemblyman) Yeshey Zimba, BPUP then merged with the stronger All People's Party (APP), headed by former and future prime minister Jigme Y. Thinley; the two parties unified as the Druk Phuensum Tshogpa on 25 July 2007.[7] Both the BPUP and APP had been registered with the Election Commission.[5][8][9]

The BPUP was briefly revived as a breakaway faction from September to November 2007 under the leadership of Sigay Dorji since its looking for well advanced party candidates in term of age and qualified enough to serve the three jewel like they did in their term.[2][4][10] In November 2007, the Election Commission rejected the BPUP's registration, preventing its candidates from participating in Bhutan's first partisan election. Amid allegations that over 75% of the BPUP's membership consisted of school dropouts, the Election Commission found the party lacked "credible leadership of the calibre that is needed to run and manage the affairs of the nation or even the management of the group itself,"[2][11] and that it lacked "the capacity to fulfill ... national aspirations, visions, and goals."[6] The elimination of the BPUP reduced the anticipated two-stage electoral process into a single-election contest.[11] The BPUP again merged with the Bhutan Peace and Prosperity Party after the Election Commission prevented it from registering under the new constitutional framework.[12][13]

  1. ^ a b Penjore, Ugyen (25 April 2007). "BPUP thought to Approaches Lyonpo Yeshey Zimba". Kuensel online. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
  2. ^ a b c Wangdi, Kencho (28 November 2007). "BPUP is Out of the Game". Kuensel online. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
  3. ^ a b Country report: Nepal, Mongolia, Bhutan. Economist Intelligence Unit (Great Britain). 2006. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
  4. ^ a b Penjore, Ugyen (15 September 2007). "BPUP Back in the Fray?". Kuensel online. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
  5. ^ a b Penjore, Ugyen (25 July 2007). "Druk Phuensum Tshogpa, the New Party in Town". Kuensel online. Archived from the original on 10 June 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
  6. ^ a b Piano, Aili (2009). Arch Puddington, Katrina Neubauer (ed.). Freedom in the World 2009: The Annual Survey of Political Rights & Civil Liberties. Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 92. ISBN 978-1-4422-0122-4. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
  7. ^ a b Penjore, Ugyen (11 July 2007). "Another Merger". Kuensel online. Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
  8. ^ Penjore, Ugyen (24 March 2007). "The Race is On". Kuensel online. Archived from the original on 10 June 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
  9. ^ Darpan, Pratiyogita (September 2008). "First General Elections in Bhutan". Pratiyogita Darpan. 2 (24): 169. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
  10. ^ S. Chandrasekharan (19 March 2008). "Bhutan: Election Eve – Update No. 69". South Asia Analysis Group (SAAG). Archived from the original on 28 November 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  11. ^ a b Muni, S.D. (12–25 April 2008). "All the King's Men". The Hindu Online. 25 (8). Archived from the original on 10 November 2012. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
  12. ^ Gall, Timothy L.; Hobby, Jeneen (2009). Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life (2 ed.). Gale. p. 137. ISBN 978-1-4144-4891-6. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
  13. ^ Kayshap, S. P. (June 2008). "Bhutan: Democracy from Above". Pratiyogita Darpan. 2 (24): 56. Retrieved 24 September 2011.