EU to send election observation team to Bhutan

New Delhi, February 22: European Union said it will send a 15-member Election Observation Mission to Bhutan to monitor the first general elections to the National Assembly scheduled for March 24.

In a statement by the union in Brussels said, it attaches great importance to the process of democratic transition in Bhutan, including the elections and the adoption of the constitution.

Spanish member of European Parliament Jos Javier Poms Ruiz will lead the mission set to leave for Thimphu this Friday. The EU will bear the cost for the mission estimated to be around one million euros.

The mission will stay in Bhutan for seven weeks. "The elections for the National Assembly of the Kingdom of Bhutan are a milestone in the country's history – they will allow the Bhutanese people to exercise their democratic right to vote and to determine their own future," Benita Ferrero-Waldner, EU Commissioner for External Relations told media persons. Bhutan News Service