Eligibility Criteria for Registration;
A person to be eligible for registration as a voter must be Bhutanese citizen, not younger than eighteen years old on the qualifying date as per section 122 of the Election Act, registered in the civil registry of that Demkhong and having his/ her Mitsi and Gung in that place for not less than one year, prior to the qualifying date, and not be disqualified from voting under any law in force in Bhutan.
Disqualifications for Registration;
A person shall not be eligible for registration as a Voter if he/she is:
Of unsound mind as declared by a competent court, disqualified for the time being under any law in force in Bhutan; and registered in the Electoral Roll of another Demkhong.
Applications for Voter Registration;
An eligible Voter who has not been included in the Electoral Roll shall submit an application in the Electoral Roll Form No. 1 along-with a copy of their citizenship identity card to the Registration Officer of the constituency for registering their name in the Electoral Roll for the Demkhong. The Registration Officer shall after scrutiny enter the applicant’s name in the Electoral Roll of the Demkhong with approval of the Dzongkhag Electoral Officer under intimation to the Chief Electoral Registration and Boundary Delimitation Officer.
Collection and Compilation of Voter Information from the Civil Registry;
The Registration Officer shall when necessary carry out the verification with the Civil Registry on the genuineness of the citizenship of an applicant for inclusion in the Electoral Roll, and carry out the verification with the list of registered members from the Religious organization for exclusion of religious personalities from the Electoral Roll. The information that shall be verified with the Civil Registry are to be limited to the name, sex, permanent address, citizenship identity card number, date of birth and the Photograph of all the eligible Voters.
Issuance of Voter Photo Identity Card (VPIC);
A VPIC shall be issued to a registered voter enrolled in the Electoral Roll by the Registration Officer of the Demkhong as prescribed by the Commission. The VPIC is sufficient evidence to allow a registered voter to vote at an election for that Demkhong. However, in the event of a challenge to the identity, the concerned Voter shall produce the citizenship identity card as additional proof. And the issuance of VPIC shall be carried out until the Poll Day.
Source:
Election Commission of Bhutan, Guidelines for Registration of Voters and Preparation of Electoral Roll of the Kingdom of Bhutan, 2012, http://www.ecb.bt/legislation/guidelines/RegofVotersNPrepOfERGuidelines.pdf.