From correspondents in Thimphu, Bhutan, 12:30 PM IST

Bhutan's draft constitution that bars people from contesting the first general elections in 2008 if they don't have a university degree is mired in a row with people's representatives opposing the move.

'The education criteria would take away rights of the people. There will not be mass representation,' Bhutan's deputy speaker in the National Assembly Zhamling Dorji was quoted as saying by the national newspaper Kuensel.

Bhutan's Election Act has proposed that a candidate must have a minimum Bachelor's Degree to enable him to contest the elections. Bhutan's literacy level is the lowest in South Asia, around 42 percent with just about 11,000 graduates in a country of 600,000 people.

'Should we allow our population to be represented by the two percent graduates?' Dorji questioned in a debate at the session of the national assembly in capital Thimphu.

'There would be minority representation to the parliament if the criteria are not changed.'

Several representatives of Bhutan's 20 districts have also opposed the guidelines for the polls that would see the Himalayan kingdom shifting from monarchy to parliamentary democracy.

'Modern education alone cannot judge a person,' an unnamed representative of Zhemgang district was quoted as saying.

A representative of Bumthang district said the present national assembly or parliament is comprised of representatives with different educational backgrounds.

'The educational qualifications will not allow broad representation as we have now. The future parliament should also be able to serve the government and the people as we are doing now,' he said.

Earlier, Bhutan's Chief Election Commissioner Dasho Kunzang Wangdi stressed on the need for a minimum academic qualification saying only a person with sound educational background would be able to serve the nation as parliamentarians.

'To be a minister one must win a seat in parliament and be a member of the ruling party, besides meeting the minimum academic qualification as enshrined in the Election Act,' Wangdi said.

'They (the elected parliamentarians) should be complimented by academic qualification so that their analytical and decision-making capabilities would be proficient.'

The two-week long assembly session that began Friday has decided to invite Wangdi to address it to dwell on issues relating to election procedures, including a discussion on the academic qualification.

The new king of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck was present at the assembly session.

Former king Jigme Singye Wangchuck earlier this month abdicated the throne in favour of his eldest son before Bhutan adopts a constitution and elects a prime minister in 2008.

Bhutan's election commission said some 400,000 voters would be eligible to exercise their franchise in 2008 to choose the first democratically elected government.

The transition began five years ago when the former king handed over the powers of daily government to a council of ministers and empowered the national assembly to force a royal abdication if three-quarters of its membership backed the motion.

In 2004 Bhutan unveiled a 34-point constitution. This was sent to some 530,000 citizens for their views. The constitution is expected to be ratified after a referendum.

Once adopted, it will replace a royal decree of 1953 giving the monarch absolute power. The new king is the fifth ruler in the Wangchuck dynasty that came to power in December 1907.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)