An election officer puts an ink mark onto a finger of a Bhutanese so that he can cast his vote in a polling station, in Thimphu, Bhutan, March 24, 2008. The secluded Himalayan nation of Bhutan took another step toward becoming the world's newest democracy as the voters cast
ballots to select a new parliament and end more than a century of absolute monarchy. King Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck, a very popular ruler, remains the head of state, but he shares power with both an elected parliament and an independent judiciary. (© AP Images)