Is Bhutan moving towards Constitutional monarchy?
Too early to say- Update 26. by Dr. S. Chandrasekharan Kuensel the official newspaper of Bhutan in its issue of October 19, 2002 said that Bhutan has taken “yet another step towards becoming a Constitutional Monarchy with a government that is for the people, by the people and of the people. ” The paper had quoted the members of the drafting committee who had completed two weeks of intensive discussions before finalising the draft. The statement made some generalities like a constitution that would ensure freedom and rights of people based on justice and rule of law, a responsive and transparent system of governance with checks and balances etc. What it avoided and that was deliberate was a total blackout on the role of the King, his powers and other checks and balances amongst the people, parties if permitted and the King. Till now, Bhutan did not have a written constitution and it is still being governed by the Royal decree of 1953. To say that the new constitution is “yet another” st
