How is the national electoral register created?

Bhutan, Election Act 2008 [official English translation], accessed 29 October 2018

36. The Election Commission shall have the power to:

(a) Introduce any device or system for the purpose of registration of voters, issue of voter photo identity cards to them, conduct of elections, for counting of votes and declaration of results thereof; […]

56. The Election Commission may designate or appoint one or more persons as Dzongkhag Electoral Registration Officers and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers to assist any Dzongkhag Electoral Officer in the efficient and effective performance of his/her functions. […]

Preparation of Electoral Rolls for Parliamentary Constituencies

105. The Dzongkhag Electoral Registration Officer for the constituency shall, subject to the superintendence, direction and control of the Dzongkhag Electoral Officer and with such assistance as he/she may require from the Department of Civil Registration, prepare Electoral Roll for every Parliamentary/Local Government constituency as prescribed by the Rules made under this Act with reference to the qualifying date.

106. The Dzongkhag Electoral Registration Officer may on an application made to him/her or on his/her own motion for the purposes of section 105:

(a) Seek any information or ask for declaration of records for determining whether a person is entitled to be registered in the Electoral Roll; and

(b) Inspect records in whatever form and make copies of pertinent information contained in the records for the registration of a person in the Electoral Roll.

Authority to Add or Delete Name in the Electoral Roll

121. The Dzongkhag Electoral Registration Officer with the approval of the Dzongkhag Electoral Officer shall, in the course of the process without prejudice to the generality of the process of revision, have the authority to:

(a) Add the names of those persons who attain the age of eighteen years;

(b) Remove or add the names of those who have changed their constituency;

(c) Remove the names of those who have died;

(d) Strike out superfluous entry where the name of the same voter appears more than once on the same Electoral Roll or in the Electoral Roll of more than one constituency;

(e) Reinstate any name removed by mistake; and

(f) Remove the names of those who have been declared disqualified for voting or who are found to be ineligible for inclusion in the Electoral Roll under the Constitution or this Act.

Election Commission of Bhutan: Guidelines for Registration of Voters and Preparation of Electoral Roll of the Kingdom of Bhutan (2018), accessed 29 October 2018

2.1 In these Guidelines unless the context otherwise requires:

2.1.1 “Civil Registry” means a register containing a variety of information such as name, address, age, citizenship identity number and other data on all citizens maintained by the Department of Civil Registration and Census;

2.1.2 “Commission” means the Election Commission of Bhutan formed in accordance with the Article 24 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Bhutan; […]

Criteria for preparation of Electoral Roll

4.1 The preparation of Electoral Roll for an election shall be guided by the following criteria:

[…]

4.1.3 The Electoral Roll shall be updated up to thirty days before the day of poll as no amendment, inclusion of name, transposition or deletion of any entry in the Electoral Roll shall be made during a period of thirty days before the date of poll for an election.

4.1.4 The Electoral Roll shall take into consideration the changes in the Voters details as evidenced in the civil registry of the Royal Government and as per Chapter 6 of the Election Act.

9. Collection and Compilation of Voter Information from the Civil Registry

9.1 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. […]

9.3 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.

Election Commission of Bhutan: Instruction for Production and Issuance of Electoral Rolls and Voter Photo Identity Cards (VPIC) (2018), accessed 29 October 2018

3.1 A Dzongkhag Electoral Registration Officer shall, in close cooperation with the concerned Dzongkhag Civil Registration Officer, effect changes in the Electoral Roll necessary due to transfer of civil registration, death of a registered voter, or change in details and status of a voter.

The Civil Registry is used for the purpose of verification of the voter details. Registration Officer, in close cooperation with the Civil Registration Officer, effect changes in the Electoral Roll necessary due to transfer of civil registration, death of a registered voter, or change in details and status of a voter.