Nervous and excited, Bhutanese flock to 1st poll

Immaculately turned out in traditional dress, the people of Bhutan formed long queues at polling stations yesterday to vote in the first parliamentary elections in the isolated Himalayan kingdom's history.

Many said they were heartbroken to leave behind a century of absolute royal rule, but others are warming to the idea of democracy in the Land of the Thunder Dragon.

"I am happy, excited and worried all at the same time," said 24-year-old office worker Chimi Lam, dressed in a green silk jacket and ankle-length skirt at a polling station at Batesa primary school overlooking the pine-clad Thimpu valley.