Kezang Dema inspired to run in Bhutan by Barack Obama

The mountain-clad Buddhist kingdom of Bhutan will have its first parliamentary elections next year.

One of the candidates, 27-year-old Kezang Dema is the youngest and only female candidate in elections to the upper house.

Dema said her decision to run came after watching a BBC news report on U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama. "I saw something in his speech. I wanted to do the same for my people. Education is a priority and we need to make 100% of our people literate."

Superdelegates

Although Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign is concentrated on mobilizing grassroots and netroots support he is not ignoring the important "superdelegates" that participate in the nomination process.

The superdelegates are elected officials who cast votes at the nominating Democratic Convention along with state delegates chosen in primaries and caucuses.

There are 235 Democratic House members and nonvoting representatives, 49 senators, the District of Columbia's two "shadow senators" and 28 governors, a total of 314 votes.

The nominee must gather 2,182 delegates to win the party's presidential nomination at next year's national convention in Denver. There will be a total of 4361 delegates.

Gaining endorsements early though does not guarantee a superdelegate will vote for you at the convention though. Historically, the superdelegates often grant their votes to whoever is the obvious winner at the time.