People's Democratic Party (Bhutan)

{{Short description|Political party in Bhutan}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2022}}

{{More citations needed|date=September 2017}}

{{Infobox political party

| name = People's Democratic Party

| native_name = {{bo-textonly|མི་སེར་དམངས་གཙོའི་ཚོགས་པ།}}

| native_name_lang = dz

| abbreviation = PDP

| logo = Pdp official logo.png

| logo_upright = 0.67

| colorcode = {{party color|People's Democratic Party (Bhutan)}}

| president = Tshering Tobgay{{cite web |url=http://pdp.bt/president |title=President - People's Democratic Party |accessdate=17 July 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728075547/http://pdp.bt/president |archivedate=28 July 2013 }}

| spokesperson =

| founders = Sangay Ngedup
Tshering Tobgay

| foundation = {{start date and age|df=yes|p=y|2007|03|24}}

| dissolution =

| ideology = Royalism
Liberalism{{Cite web |title=Tshering Tobgay set to return as Bhutan PM after liberal PDP wins elections|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/10/tshering-tobgay-set-to-return-as-bhutan-pm-after-liberal-pdp-wins-elections|date=2024-01-10|access-date=2024-08-29 |website=Al Jazeera|language=en-US}}
Progressivism{{cite web|title=Bhutan and its political parties|url=https://epthinktank.eu/2014/11/27/bhutan-and-its-political-parties/|website=European Parliamentary Research Service|date=27 November 2014 |accessdate=12 October 2017}}

| predecessor =

| successor =

| headquarters = Drizang Lam, Lower Motithang, Thimphu

| position = Centre to centre-left

| religion =

| international =

| newspaper =

| colors =

| slogan =

| seats1_title = Seats in the National Assembly

| seats1 = {{Composition bar|30|47|hex={{party color|People's Democratic Party (Bhutan)}}}}

| flag =

| website =

| country = Bhutan

| symbol = Galloping White Horse

}}

The People's Democratic Party ({{langx|dz|མི་སེར་དམངས་གཙོའི་ཚོགས་པ།}}; Wylie: mi-ser dmangs-gtsoi tshogs-pa; {{small|abbr.}} PDP) is one of the major political parties in Bhutan, formed on 24 March 2007. The founder president of this party is Sangay Ngedup, the former prime minister and agriculture minister of the Royal Government of Bhutan. The current leader of the party is Tshering Tobgay. The People's Democratic Party submitted its application for registration on 6 August 2007 and thus became the first political party in Bhutan to do so. On 1 September 2007 the Election Commission of Bhutan registered the party.[http://www.election-bhutan.org.bt/module.php?Menu=Left&View=D_PARTY&PID=1001 Election Commission of Bhutan website -PDP] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080304000445/http://www.election-bhutan.org.bt/module.php?Menu=Left&View=D_PARTY&PID=1001 |date=4 March 2008 }} The PDP tends to be more popular in the west of the country.{{Cite web |title=Why PDP lost, DNT won and DPT held on |url=https://thebhutanese.bt/19535-2/ |access-date=2022-11-02 |website=The Bhutanese |language=en-US}}

The party presented candidates for the 2008 National Assembly election in all 47 constituencies.[http://www.pdp.bt/pdp-calenders-events-schedules/meeting-of-all-47-pdp-candidates-7-8-december-2007.html The meeting of the candidates] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071227175402/http://www.pdp.bt/pdp-calenders-events-schedules/meeting-of-all-47-pdp-candidates-7-8-december-2007.html |date=27 December 2007 }} The party won only two of the National Assembly's 47 seats, and just under one third of the votes cast. The only other party that registered for the election, the Bhutan Peace and Prosperity Party, gained 45 seats and just over two thirds of the votes. The People's Democratic Party's president, Sangay Ngedup, failed to win the seat in his own constituency.[http://www.france24.com/en/20080324-bhutan-votes-status-quo-jigmi-thinley-election-parliament&navi=MONDE "Bhutan votes for status quo"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429011604/http://www.france24.com/en/20080324-bhutan-votes-status-quo-jigmi-thinley-election-parliament%26navi%3DMONDE |date=29 April 2011 }}, France 24, 24 March 2008.

In the 2013 elections, the party won 32 seats with 54.88% of the votes.

PDP's election victory is attributed to its comprehensive campaign promises. The campaign promise focused on improving the country's economy which has recorded a real GDP growth rate of 2%, the lowest in the recent 20 years. Confidence in the economy was at its weakest with rupee shortages, raising debt, loans being stopped by financial institutions and corruption having become a major concern.

The party came in 3rd place in the 2018 first-round primary elections, thus losing all its seats.