Bhutan's first democratic election has produced a notably young band of lawmakers for its upper house, the National Council. The body, elected in the historic poll of 31 December 2007, is made up mostly of Bhutanis in their 20s and 30s, and contains a number of fresh graduates, a few retired and working bureaucrats who resigned to contest elections, and others with military-family backgrounds. Indeed, the oldest newly elected official is only in his mid-50s. The main reason for this result was the Thimphu government's requirement that candidates have college degrees – a necessity that rules out much of the country's populace. As could perhaps be expected in a first-time democracy, these faces may be fresh, but each now appears to lack political experience. Indeed, many would do well with some rapid inculcation of democratic culture and norms.
As Bhutan's first democratic institution, the new National Council boasts a relatively skewed representation of the country's major communities. Of the 15 elected members, six are from the Ngalop community, the ruling elite; six are from the Sarchop community, of the east; two are from the Lhotshampa community, the Nepali-speakers of the south who make up 30 percent of the country's population; and one is from the Kheng community, hailing from the centre of the country. Among them, just three are women.
The end result notwithstanding, the early reports on 31 December showed that the road to democracy would not be without bumps. On the whole, voter turnout was lower than had been forecast, despite the royal government's public urgings, and the two rounds of mock elections in April and May 2007. The attendance on polling day appeared even less than the fairly dismal 55 percent claimed by the Chief Election Commissioner, Dasho Kunzang Wangdi.
In Trashigang, Bhutan's easternmost district and the stronghold of the Sarchops, 47 percent of the 18,109 registered voters turned out to vote. In Wangdue Phodrang, in the central part of the country, there was a 61 percent turnout.