Bhutan brought down the curtain on a century of absolute monarchy today as the king's subjects elected the remote Himalayan nation's first democratic government.
The landmark vote was proposed by Bhutan's royal family to peacefully transform the small Buddhist kingdom, wedged in the mountains between massive neighbours India and China, into a constitutional monarchy.
The Bhutan United Party made an unexpected clean sweep by winning 44 of the total 47 seats for the lower house in what was seen to be a tight two-party race.
Party leader Jigmi Thinley, a two-time former premier under the previous royal governments, is expected to be the new prime minister.
But the country's young Oxford-educated sovereign, King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, 28, is expected to retain a strong influence over the running of the country, which has long boasted that its goal is 'Gross National Happiness'.
Despite the election excitement, many people are thought to view the concept of democracy with some alarm, and the king made a last-minute pitch to his people at the weekend to try to get them to take part.
His appeal seemed to have worked, as an election commission official reported nearly 80% turnout, as voters turned up in large numbers wearing fine traditional clothes especially for the historic occasion.
The switch to democracy is a major step for Bhutan, which is about the size of Switzerland and is one of the most insular countries on the planet.
Before the king's dynasty took over in 1907, the country was divided up into countless local fiefdoms. It had no roads, telephones or currency until the 1960s, and only allowed television in 1999.
The landlocked country, which calls itself 'The Land of the Thunder Dragon', was also never colonised. For centuries the Bhutanese relished their isolation, maintaining a barter economy and allowing few foreigners to visit.
The kingdom's move to democracy began in 2001 when former king Jigme Singye Wangchuck handed over daily government to a council of ministers and finally stepped down in favour of his son in late 2006.
The United States congratulated the people of Bhutan on the elections. 'This event...marks another positive step in Bhutan's transition to a democratic, constitutional monarchy,' State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement.
The results will be officially announced on Tuesday.
