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03/26/2008: "Bhutan reluctantly becomes democratic"

Leaders of both the parties have said they would prefer to have remained under the former monarchic system. Many voters said they were casting a ballot—with a heavy heart—simply because this was the wish of their recently-abdicated ruler, King Jigme Singye Wangchuk.

Few elected governments could boast of the king’s record. Accelerating a reform process begun by his father, whom he succeeded in 1972, the king transformed Bhutan from one of the world’s most reclusive poor countries to one of its more enlightened.

[The people fear a significant rise in corruption and are pessimistic for the future. Quite right. ]

http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10907641