In tiny Bhutan, known for its pursuit of happiness, democracy brings discontent
CHUNJE, Bhutan — It is harvest time in this village in western Bhutan, and residents are reaping an unusual crop: politicians making promises.
One politician vowed to pave the local road, now a rutted dirt track skirting a river, within three months. Another pledged to expand a nearby elementary school into a high school. A third warned against believing what the other two had said.
Within families in the village, divisions have erupted over which party to support in this week’s elections, while partisan messages pop up daily on cellphones via a social media app called WeChat.
“In terms of peace and quiet and harmony, the old system was much better,” said Chencho Dorji, 68, picking up a sheaf of rice and feeding it into a thresher.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/in-tiny-bhutan-known-for-its-pursuit-of-happiness-democracy-brings-discontent/2018/10/17/05e43118-d229-11e8-a275-81c671a50422_story.html
