Business man aspires for council from Wangdue

Business man Dawa Tshering will contest in the upcoming National Council (NC) elections from Wangduephodrang.

Dawa Tshering, 31, is a father of one and the only candidate from his gewog. He is from Rukubji village under Sephu gewog.

He worked as a protocol officer in the Ministry of Finance for three years after which he joined as a Dzongkha radio anchor at Bhutan Broadcasting Service (BBS).

Later he resigned from BBS and left for Malaysia to do tourism marketing for two years.

Currently he owns a travel agent and an import business.

Dawa Tshering has completed his Bachelor’s degree in language and culture studies from Institute of Language and Culture Studies, Semtokha.

He said he wants to contest for NC because though the council primarily functions to ensure that all law, plans and policies are reviewed, amended and initiated, citizens at the grassroots have poor understanding of legislation, and he wants to change that.

He said that Wangdue is one of the largest dzongkhags but not many contestants came forward to participate in the previous NC elections.

“Therefore, I want to give people more choices this time,” he said.

He expects to visit households to listen to his people’s problems and issues related to legislation.

Dawa Tshering also wants to raise awareness and advocacy on pressing national issues like youth unemployment, good governance and social issues.

Raised by parents who are farmers, he believes he can be a responsible leader because he has been through hardships and is prepared to lead. “Since I come from a humble background, I will see to it that people who are not privileged are heard.”

If elected, Dawa Tshering hopes to revive cultures and traditions that are on the verge of vanishing. He also hopes to facilitate legislation that will better the economy.

Currently, he is on a familiarization tour of his dzongkhag.

As of now, Wangduephodrang has four registered aspirant candidates for NC.

Dechen Dolkar from Thimphu