~: M H O :~ NRIs’ notional right to vote

 

NRIs' notional right to vote

Non-Resident (Reliable) Indians (NRIs)
will now be able to take part in elections in India.

A notification to this effect has been issued
� in fulfilment of the prime minister's promise
� on the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas last year.
So far,
only Indians who were ordinarily
resident in India could be voters.
Anyone who lived abroad,
continuously for more than six months,
lost his right to be on the voters' list.

The notification allows an Indian passport
� holder to register himself as a voter in
� a constituency which corresponds
with the address given in his passport.

He can apply to the electoral officer of the area
� concerned for registration in a prescribed form.
Though the notification doesn't specify,
� it is assumed that since they can vote,
they can also contest.

NRIs have been demanding
� the right to vote for a long time.
Their argument is that while the government
welcomes remittances from them,
they are deprived of the right to participate in elections and,
thereby, in the governance of the country.

However,
the notification is unlikely to enthuse most of them.
This is because,
to take part in an election in India,
they will have to be present in the
constituency on the day of polling.
� It is unreasonable to expect
� an ordinary NRI to spend a huge sum of money on travel alone,
� merely to exercise his/her franchise.
In fact,
for a vast majority of NRIs,
� a yearly visit to India is often a dream.

Thus,
for all practical purposes,
the right to vote will remain just notional for most NRIs.

Many countries,
like the US, make arrangements
for voting at their embassies and
consular offices to facilitate voting by
their non-resident countrymen.

India
need not emulate them
as there are better ways of ensuring
� NRIs' participation in voting.


Few countries have as much experience
in holding elections as India.
It is one of the pioneers in using
an electronic voting system
which is the envy of many countries.

� With such wealth of experience,
it should not be difficult for the
election commission to think of ways
� and means to extend the facility of electronic
voting through Internet to all the registered NRI voters.

If Internet-based trading and banking
can be conducted safely,
there is no reason
why the worldwide web cannot be
made use of for voting, too.
� After all,
such a voting is nothing
but
� a modern version of the postal ballot,
which has been used for long in Indian elections.


Sriram Savarkar ©
Hinduism is more a way of life than a method of worship.
Dharmo Rakshati Rakshithaha
If you protect Dharma, Dharma will in turn protect you.
Hindus, If people slap you once, slap them twice!

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