Bhutan Civics Chapter 5

Chapter Five

The Prime Minister and the Council of Minister

The Prime Minister

The Prime Minister is the head of the government.

·         Prime Minister is responsible for the wellbeing of the nation and people.

·         PM ensures that the DPSP is respected and followed during the implementation of the policies and programs.

Appointment

·         The monarch will appoint the PM but does not enjoy the absolute power

·         Prime Minister is appointed from the ruling party.

·         He or She receives Darkyen from the Monarch.

·         He or She should be a natural born citizen of Bhutan.

Term of Office

·         The term of Prime Minister is 5 years.

·         He or She can be the Prime Minister for second term provided he wins the election once again.

·         If the vote of no confidence is passed against the Prime Minister, if Prime Minister recommends the Monarch to dissolve the parliament and if he or she violates the Constitution, Prime Minister should resign.

Powers and functions

A)                Formation of the Council of Ministers

·         The most power is the formation of the council of ministers

·         The Prime Minister recommends who he or she thinks are capable.

·         Prime Minister prepares list of Ministers to Monarch.

·         Monarch will appoint Council of Ministers.

B) Distribution of Portfolios (Duties/Responsibility)

·         Prime minister decides the portfolio of the Ministers.

·         Prime Minister can charge the portfolio of the Minister if the Minister has not been up to the expectation of allocated portfolio.

C) Removal of the Ministers

·         Prime Minister can remove the ministers if Prime Minister is not happy with the work of the minister or if Prime Minister has to resign after the vote of no confidence and if PM losses his or her confidence in the ministers.

D) Leader of the Council of Minister

·         Prime Minister is the leader of the Council of Ministers.

·         He or she decides the tropics of agenda to be discussed in the meeting.

·         Prime Minister coordinates and examines the work of different Ministers in different ministries.

E) Link between the Monarch and Council of Minister

·         The Prime Minister keeps the Monarch informed about the decisions in the cabinet.

·         The Prime Minister conveys all suggestions and advises given by the Monarch to the Council of Ministers.

F) Chief Advisor of the Monarch

·         The Prime Minister is the Chief Advisor of the Monarch regarding any Ministry and during National crisis and emergencies.

G) Appointments

·         All the recommendation for important appointments in the country and outside are made by Prime Minister to Monarch.

H) Leader of the Ruling Party

·         The Prime Minister is the leader of the Ruling Party.

·         He or she is responsible to lead the party for the wellbeing of the state and the people.

I) Leader of the Nation

·         If Prime Minister is responsible of the wellbeing of the State and the People like the Monarch, He or she is also the leader of Nation.

·         PM is also the chief advisor of the monarch during the national crisis and emergencies.

Council of Ministers(Lhengye Zhungtshog)

·         It is headed by the Prime Minister.

·         Their main responsibility is to formulate and implement the policies and programs of the state based on Directive Principles of the State Policy.

Appointment and Composition of the Council of Ministers

·         The Council of Ministers comprises of the Prime Minister and 10 heads of different 10 ministries.

·         The Prime Minister is appointed by Druk Gyalpo from the ruling party as the head of the Council of Ministers.

·         Ministers are appointed by the Druk Gyalpo on the recommendation of Prime Minister from ruling party.

·         In future, the number of ministers can increase or decrease depending upon the number of ministries

Term of Office

·         The term of all the members in the Council of Ministers is for 5 years.

·         They should be a natural born citizen of Bhutan.

·         They should be from the ruling party.

·         The ministers can be removed by the recommendation of Prime Minister to the Druk Gyalpo.

·         If the Prime Minister has to resign because of vote of no confidence then all the ministers have to resign.

·         Before their office they have to undertake the Affirmation of Office.

Powers and Functions of Council of Ministers

a)      Formulation of National Policies

Ø  To formulate policies and programmes with the help of Directive Principles of the State Policy and their policies and programmes should focus on their party manifesto.

b)      Execution and implementation of the National Policies

Ø  They should implement their policies and programmes for the wellbeing of the people and progress of the State.

c)      Promotion of Domestic and International Relations

Ø  They are responsible for making foreign policies to promote relation with other countries.

Ø  They are responsible to promote social, economic and cultural development.

d)     Financial Functions

Ø  They are responsible to allot resources to different ministries and to present money bills to the parliament.

e)      Legialative Power

Ø  The Council of Ministers plays very important role in formulating laws because the Council of Ministers are formed by the ruling party which have maximum members in the parliament, the bills get passed with their majority easily.

f)       Bridge between the monarch and the people

Ø  They run the government in the name of the Monarch and they formulate policies and programmes for the wellbeing of the people and nation.  Therefore, they are the bridge between the Monarch and the people.