A political party seen as the more royalist of two groups seeking power swept the first parliamentary elections ever held in this secluded Himalayan kingdom, Bhutan's election commissioner said on Monday.

The Bhutan Peace and Prosperity Party took 44 of the 47 seats in the new parliament, Election Commissioner Kunzang Wangdi said. The People's Democratic Party won the remaining three seats.

Turnout was slightly more than 79 percent of the 320,000 registered voters, Wangdi said. Even in remote corners of the largely rural country - in tiny hamlets where voting machines were delivered by yak - the election went smoothly, officials said.

The results will not be official until Tuesday morning.

The vote ended more than a century of absolute monarchy in the mountainous land long known as a quirky holdout from modernity, allowing television and the Internet only in 1999.

The election came with a twist: It was the king, not the people, who pressed for democracy.

Celebrating democracy

The candidates for the Thimphu North constituency greeted each other just before polling begins. Both the candidates left their lucrative careers in the government to join politics and are upbeat about the momentous transition in their country

''I thought it was very important that the process of democratisation is put on firm foundation. So those of us who were senior civil servants and cabinet members have resigned to take part in this election,'' said Ugyen Tshering, Candidate, DPT.

At this polling station in Thimphu, the excitement was clearly visible as people queued up to cast their vote in this historic election.

''First day we vote in Bhutan, it is an exceptional day. We hope all the best for our country. I feel quite emotional,'' said a Bhutanese woman.

''I think it is very important for us and for our country as its the first time in our country,'' said a local Bhutanese.

Unlike India, elections are being held under a two party system for the 47 members National assembly. Only graduates can contest. Campaigning is funding by the State, and Party funding closely monitored to keep corruption and dirty money out.

The government has gone to great lengths to educate the voters for the country's first ever-general election.

''We developed the Bhutan voters guide. We made documentaries, put them on DVDs, circulated them and broadcasted them. We put out posters stickers and interviews. Through that process most people knew what it will entail in the elections,'' said Kunzum Wangdi, Chief Election Commissioner, Bhutan.

Some say that indications came as early as 1974 when the fourth king, King Jigmey Signye Wangchuk, in his coronation speech spoke about giving power to the people. But the real process started in 2005, when the proposed constitution envisaged Parliamentary democracy and the King announced that he would abdicate power.

On Monday, as the Bhutanese voted, it is recorded as the final step in Bhutan's historic move from monarchy to democracy.

(With AP inputs)