King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck formally succeeded his father in 2008. The monarch is head of state, appoints a number of high officials in consultation with other bodies, and retains a waning degree of influence over ministerial positions. The king nominates the leader of the majority party in the elected National Assembly to serve as prime minister. Tshering Tobgay took office as prime minister in 2013 after parliamentary elections that were viewed as credible by international observers.

The constitution provides for a bicameral parliament, with a 25-seat upper house, the National Council, and a 47-seat lower house, the National Assembly. Members of both bodies serve five-year terms. The king appoints five members of the nonpartisan National Council, and the remaining 20 are popularly elected as independents; the National Assembly is entirely elected. In the 2013 National Assembly elections, the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) won 32 seats. The Druk Peace and Prosperity Party (DPT), which had dominated the first national elections in 2008, won the remaining 15 seats. International observers deemed the 2013 elections credible.

Elections are administered by the Election Commission of Bhutan (ECB). The commission is thought to act impartially, although some of its regulations regarding which parties can compete in elections are controversial. In 2013, the ECB was criticized for disqualifying the Bhutan Kuen-Nyam Party (BKP) from competing in the primary elections because it did not produce candidates in two local constituencies.

Citizens must receive government approval to form political parties. Obtaining approval is difficult, and the government has denied registration to several newly formed parties. The Bhutan Happiness Party, formed in 2017, had not yet been approved by the government at the end of the year. Bhutan has two officially registered major parties, the PDP and the DPT, and three officially registered smaller parties.

The opposition has a realistic chance to increase its support through elections. In 2013, the PDP, then the main opposition party, won the parliamentary elections with 68 percent of the vote.

India still has a strong influence over the choices of Bhutanese voters and politicians. In 2013, just before the parliamentary elections, India withdrew subsidies for oil and kerosene. Many observers viewed the move as retaliation for the DPT government’s closer ties to China and an attempt to swing the elections toward the PDP.

The royal family also retains significant influence. Most members of the political elite, including members of parliament, steadfastly support the king and are hesitant to take any positions in direct opposition to the royal family.

Electoral rules stipulate that political parties must not be limited to members of any regional, ethnic, or religious group. There is no party that represents Nepali speakers. Citizenship rules are strict, and many Nepali-speaking people have not attained citizenship, effectively disenfranchising them. International election monitors have noted that Nepali speakers have been turned away from voting.

Women are underrepresented in public office, occupying only 8 percent of the seats in the National Assembly. Traditional customs inhibit women’s political participation. The government has supported several programs to empower women and increase their engagement in politics.

Bhutan has made a successful transition from a system in which the monarch and his advisers dominated governance to one in which policies and legislation are mostly determined by elected officials.

India still has an influence on policymaking in Bhutan, and China has also become an important player in recent years. India provides significant foreign aid to Bhutan and accounts for 75 percent of its trade. As a result, the Bhutanese government is hesitant to make policies that will upset the relationship with India. In a 2017 incident that highlighted the impact of Bhutan’s powerful neighbors, India sent troops to confront Chinese military personnel attempting to build a road on the Doklam plateau, on territory claimed by both Bhutan and China. Indian and Chinese troops withdrew after a standoff that lasted from June 2017 until late August.

The government generally enforced anticorruption laws effectively. The 2006 Anti-Corruption Act established whistle-blower protections. The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), which had its role strengthened and expanded in 2011, is tasked with investigating and preventing graft, and has successfully prosecuted several high-profile cases. The chief executive officer of state-owned Bhutan Telecom Ltd. was charged with graft in June 2017, along with 11 others, in connection with an attempt to acquire government land.

Nepotism and favoritism in public procurement and government employment remained a problem in 2017.

Although Bhutan lacks comprehensive freedom of information legislation, Prime Minister Tobgay has strengthened transparency by making the salaries of officials public and using his office to make the central and local budgets more open to review. A right to information law passed by the National Assembly in 2014 was designed to put the onus on government officials and agencies to release information. However, the National Council did not approve the bill, and by the end of 2017 it had yet to win final passage.

While there are multiple private media outlets, many depend on advertising from state bodies, and Bhutan’s media environment remained subject to a high degree of self-censorship, especially regarding criticism of the royal family. Powerful individuals can use defamation laws to retaliate against critics. One of the country’s most prominent journalists, Namgay Zam, left for Nepal in early 2017, after a prominent businessman filed a defamation lawsuit against her in 2016 over one of her postings on social media. Zam said she could not find a lawyer to represent her. The suit was withdrawn shortly before reaching a verdict in January 2017.

In December 2017, the Bhutan Information Communications and Media Act was passed, replacing a 2006 law. The government said it would strengthen the independence of the media and promote a free and vibrant media industry. The legislation called for the establishment of an independent body called the Media Council, which will be responsible for monitoring and regulating the media and will determine whether any media content is harmful or offensive. Press freedom advocates fear that the new body will further erode press freedom and contribute to greater self-censorship.

The constitution protects freedom of religion, but local authorities are known to harass non-Buddhists. While Bhutanese of all faiths can worship freely in private, people experience pressure to participate in Buddhist ceremonies and practices.

Christian churches have often been unable to obtain registration from the government, which means that they cannot raise funds or buy property, placing constraints on their activities. Christian children are sometimes not allowed into schools based on their religion.

Few restrictions on academic freedom have been reported. However, Bhutanese university students are often hesitant to speak out on controversial political issues and practice self-censorship. Students, in conducting research, tend to receive negative feedback for posing questions that could be considered offensive or too blunt.

Freedom of expression is constitutionally guaranteed and generally respected. However, under the National Security Act, speech that creates or attempts to create “hatred and disaffection among the people” or “misunderstanding or hostility between the government and people,” among other offenses, can be punished with imprisonment. The broad language of the law makes it vulnerable to misuse.

The constitution guarantees freedom of assembly, but this right is limited by government-imposed restrictions. Public gatherings require government permission, which is sometimes denied. Curfews and restrictions on the location of demonstrations also serve to curtail assembly rights.

Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that work on issues related to ethnic Nepalis are not allowed to operate, but other local and international NGOs work with increasing freedom. Under the 2007 Civil Society Organization Act, all new NGOs must register with the government. Registration is granted to NGOs that are determined by the government to be “not harmful to the peace and unity of the country.”

The constitution nominally guarantees the right of workers to form unions, but the right to strike is not legally protected. Workers may bargain collectively, and antiunion discrimination is prohibited. Most of the country’s workforce is engaged in small-scale agriculture and is therefore not unionized.

The independence of the judiciary is largely respected. Senior judges are appointed by the king on the recommendation of the National Judicial Commission. However, the rulings of judges often lack consistency, and many people view the judiciary as corrupt.

Although the right to a fair trial is largely guaranteed and arbitrary arrest is not a widespread problem, plaintiffs and defendants in civil disputes often represent themselves. The U.S. State Department and NGOs continue to document instances of alleged political prisoners being held in Bhutan, usually because of their work advocating for ethnic Nepalis.

The civilian police force generally operates within the law, and incidents of excessive force are rare. However, insurgents from the Indian state of Assam sometimes enter Bhutan and undermine security. Occasional instances of kidnapping and robbery occur along the border with India.

The constitution protects against discrimination based on sex, race, disability, language, religion, or societal status. However, Nepali-speaking people reportedly face employment discrimination and other forms of bias.

LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) people experience societal discrimination and social stigma, and there are no specific legal protections for transgender people. Same-sex sexual activity remains a criminal offense and can be punished with up to a year in prison, although the law is not generally enforced. Despite recent gains, discrimination in employment and education persists for women in Bhutan.

Bhutanese citizens generally have the freedom to travel domestically and internationally. However, the government has established different categories of citizenship, which restricts foreign travel for some. These restrictions reportedly have the greatest effect on Nepali speakers. Bhutanese security forces sometimes arrest Nepali people seeking to enter the country.

Individuals generally have rights to own property and establish businesses, but the process of registering a new business can be cumbersome and hinder business development. Some ethnic Nepalis who lack a security clearance certificate face difficulties in starting a business. The property registration process can also be lengthy.

Reports of domestic violence have increased in recent years. Societal taboos lead many incidents of rape and domestic violence to go unreported. Child marriage still occurs with some frequency; according to UNICEF, 26 percent of women are married before age 18.

G4. Do individuals enjoy equality of opportunity and freedom from economic exploitation? 2 / 4

Female household workers, who often come from rural areas or India, are vulnerable to forced labor and other abuse, as are foreign workers in the construction and hydropower sectors. Child labor continued to be a problem in 2017, mostly in the agriculture and construction sectors. Girls often served as household workers and were vulnerable to abuse.

Sex trafficking remained a problem in 2017, and the government’s enforcement efforts were inadequate to address it effectively; no prosecutions for trafficking were reported during the year. However, the government funded an NGO that shelters victims of trafficking.