Gewog

Gewog is a basic administrative unit in the kingdom of Bhutan. It is a block of villages that forms part of a dzongkhag (district) and is subdivided into chiwogs, which are used for electoral purposes and local planning. The term gewog itself comes from Dzongkha and means village block.

A gewog is governed by an elected official known as the Gup, who chairs the Gewog Tshogde (block council). The Mangmi serves as the deputy head and coordinates the gewog’s administrative staff. The Gewog Administration implements day-to-day governance and development plans approved by the Gewog Tshogde, in coordination with the dzongkhag administration and central government.

Elections for the Gup and the Gewog Tshogde are held every five years, as part of Bhutan’s local government framework established by the 2008 Constitution and related Local Government Acts. The gewog prepares and executes plans and budgets focused on rural development, road maintenance, primary education and health facilities, agriculture, watershed and land management, and other basic infrastructure needs.

Gewogs are the building blocks of dzongkhags, with several chiwogs forming a gewog. Chiwogs are commonly used as electoral precincts and for census purposes. Overall, the gewog plays a central role in local governance and service delivery, serving as the primary locus for community participation in development and administration.