Thimphu: Bhutan will adopt its Constitution when the new Parliament session begins in May. "The first sitting of the Bhutanese Parliament, scheduled to begin in early May, will adopt the Constitution," a Cabinet office release said. "The Parliament will enact the Election Bill and the Parliamentary Entitlements Bill," it said. This was decided at the first Cabinet meeting of the new government on Monday.
Prime Minister Jigmi Thinley will resume the chairmanship of the Coronation and Centenary Celebration Committee. Oxford-educated Jigme Khesar Namgyal will be crowned Bhutan's fifth king next month. Thinley also met with the Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) MPs yesterday and discussed the formation of parliamentary committees.
The final draft of the Constitution that aimed at ushering of democracy in the kingdom was ready last year. The drafting committee incorporated changes in some of the provisions of the constitution based on comments by people during consultation meetings held from October 2005 to May 2006.
The drafting of the constitution was announced by King Jigme Singye Wangchuck in 2001 "to create a democratic political system best suited for Bhutan".
After the adoption, the Constitution will provide the legal framework for a democratic political system that will safeguard the security and sovereignty of the nation and ensure the wellbeing of the people.
