Civil servants must be apolitical. They should not attend political meetings. That is the ECB ruling. What civil servants are asking is, "What does it mean?"

The ECB explains that it views "apolitical" with two meanings. One is not being interested in politics at all. That, obviously, is not what Bhutan intends. We all hope that every eligible voter will vote.

The real intention of the rule is to dissuade civil servants from campaigning for politicians or political parties. And they are not allowed to express their political views in public. As it is, nearly every civil servant must have relatives who are in politics.

The concept is that we have a neutral bureaucracy that will work without bias with the political party that comes into power. The government itself is not allowed to manipulate the bureaucracy to favour the party, as it is being done in many places with disastrous impact.

The issue of not being allowed to attend party meetings appears to be a more complex one. Many civil servants argue that they would like to attend meetings organised by both parties so that they get to know the candidates, understand political philosophies, and make reasoned choices.

This makes sense but there is also the possibility that, if seen at party meetings, civil servants may be "branded" as party sympathizers if not members. In our small inter-connected society, we are too ready to jump to conclusions.

But the real problem today is that being apolitical is being taken too far, to the extent that civil servants do not even talk to politicians or are uncomfortable being seen with politicians. We have seen politicians being avoided at gatherings and official functions and civil servants staying away from previous acquaintances.

Politicians from both the registered parties tell us that they feel like "untouchables". That is sad.

Many of Bhutan's political leaders are the best among the best of their generations. They have grown through the system with the fourth Druk Gyalpo. And they are in politics with a noble purpose, to fulfill a vision that is critical for Bhutan.

It is unfortunate that Bhutanese politicking has taken on some negative connotations. Be it overzealous party workers, the lack of political experience, learning from the wrong examples, or the pressure of competition, we believe that political parties do need to watch the behaviour and image of their members.

But we have no reason to avoid contacts with our politicians. In fact, we need to be in closer interaction to help each other move the process of democratisation forward.

(Courtesy : Kuensel (Bhutan))