The first ever general election in Bhutan was held in 2008. The next election for the lower house is due by March 2013. One of the country's major parties, the Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT), which won an overwhelming victory in the general election, is and will remain the dominant political force in Bhutan. It won 45 of the 47 lower house seats in the 2008 election, and we expect it to secure another large majority at the next poll. In this regard, the party will be helped by the fact that it is made up of the political "old guard" from the pre-democracy era, and so it has been able to consolidate its position in power easily, and also by the fact that the electorate has been relatively uncritical of the government. However, the scale of the DPT's victory might be more modest at the next election, as by then the country's voters may have become more adjusted to the idea of multiparty democracy and thus more willing to challenge the political status quo. Bhutan will complete its first ever local government elections in May.