- "King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck urged Bhutanese to turn out for the election as many people have seemed reluctant to embrace democracy.
'As you approach the duty of voting at the elections that will bring democracy, do so with pride and confidence of a people that have achieved so much,' he said in a statement published in the nation's newspapers.
'First and foremost, you must vote. Every single person must exercise his or her franchise.'"
Like in other constitutional monarchies around the world, the 28-year-old king will remain head of state, with the winning party putting forward a prime minister. Not all resident of the Himalayan nation are eager for a change in the status quo, but Election Day was declared a national holiday and many were eager to make history by casting their ballots.
With nearly 80 percent voter turnout, the conservative Bhutan Peace and Prosperity Party won an overwhelming number of seats, 45, compared to the two seats gained by the liberal People's Democratic Party. (Both parties are royalist and abide by the king's goal of "Gross National Happiness.") Lyonpo Jigme Yoser Thinley of the winning party became Bhutan's prime minister on April 9, 2008.
Khesar is the fifth Dragon King of Bhutan and head of the Wangchuck dynasty, which has ruled since 1907. He studied at Wheaton College in Massachusetts and Oxford University in the U.K.
