April 6: Parliamentarians must live by the highest code of ethics said the Prime Minister elect Jigmi Y. Thinley.

He said they must make themselves accountable and responsible to the people. He was speaking at the executive committee meeting of Druk Phuensum Tshogpa in the capital.

He said misconduct by party members, in particular the elected members, will not be tolerated. He said there will be a system for reprimanding and even removing elected individuals from the party.

“And I as your elected leader am prepared to take the harshest of the measures,” said Jigmi Y. Thinley. He said the party has a huge burden, the burden of setting precedence.

“We have the responsibility of putting this country on the right path. If we make mistakes, those mistakes will be repeated and become worse in the years to come and we will have betrayed the trust and the hope with which the people have elected us,” he said.

To ensure this he said there will a watchdog in the Party’s Headquarter office, which the party will create. He said elected members must make themselves accountable to the party and the people. He said accountability and responsibility to the people will be a major guiding factor and a major consideration that they will bear in their consciousness all the time.

Corruption free Bhutan within the next 5 years

The Prime Minister elect Jigmi Y. Thinley said making Bhutan a corruption free country within the next five years is on one of the major goals. He said corruption will be defined and ways and means to root out corruption will be devised.

“We are going to commit ourselves to ensure that by the end of the five years we can pride ourselves with the knowledge that there is no corruption in Bhutan and that we are corruption free country. It is possible. And of course where we begin is also very important. And we will begin in the party and within and among ourselves,” he said.

Ensuring press freedom

Jigmi Y. Thinley also pledged to ensure press freedom. For that he said they will devise ways to ensure transparency in the way the government and parliamentarians conduct themselves.

“Without compromising the independence of the media, we are committed to ensuring that the media, the fourth state will grow and become an effective instrument for furthering the interest of ensuring government accountability,” he said.

Except for matters of state, secrets concerning the security of the country, the media will have access to policies, plans, programmes and all the activities of the government and parliamentarians and also of the party as well.

He, however, said the media must be responsible, ensure what they report is true and that it is in the larger interest of the society.

What’s next for the party?

Adoption of the Draft Constitution, the 10th five year plan, the coronation of His Majesty the King and centenary celebrations are major immediate activities that the new elected government will take up soon after it is formed.

The Prime Minister elect Jigmi Y. Thinley said the adoption of constitution should not be difficult since there has already been a basic referendum undertaken by His Majesty the fourth Druk Gyalpo and His Majesty the King.

“The 10th plan will have to be structured in a way that it falls within the paradigm of the party manifesto. It will include national programs as well as constituency and village level plans, projects and activities,” he said.