BHUTANESE HAVE HIGH EXPECTATIONS OF THEIR NEW PARLIAMENT

Expectations are high among the people of Bhutan for the new government to deliver on its promises, especially once the new Constitution is adopted in early May when the parliament convenes, writes Francoise Pommaret, Bhutan\'s honourary consul in Paris and director of National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) in Paris and advisor to the Institute of Language and Culture Studies (ILCS), Royal University of Bhutan. Despite initial misgivings about their country\'s shift from absolute to constitutional monarchy, citizens are waiting to see if the new government will be able to safeguard Bhutan\'s stability and independence. Foremost among their concerns is for the government of Prime Minister Jigmi Y Thinley to assure them that corruption will not become as rampant as in other countries in the region. The prime minister\'s Bhutan Peace and Prosperity Party won 44 of 47 parliamentary seats in the March 24 elections. The issues facing Bhutan are to be addressed within the framework of the Gross National Happiness (GNH) concept, included in Bhutan\'s Five-Year Development Plan of 2008-2013 and based on the idea that economic and material development alone do not provide happiness to people. Rather, the GNH emphasises environmental preservation, good governance, preservation of religious and moral values, and sustainable development.