EC mulling over internet voting options for NRIs
The Union Cabinet Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs, Vayalar Ravi said
that the Election Commission is exploring ways to implement the
Representation of People (Amendment) Bill 2010 and is mulling over
options of internet voting for the Non-Resident Indians, reports Gulf Times.
"We have crossed a milestone by adopting the Representation of People
(Amendment) Bill 2010. Now the Election Commission will look into ways
to implement it effectively, including Internet voting," Overseas Indian
Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi said.
Indian citizens, who live abroad for more than six months, until did not
figure in the voters' list prepared before elections. But now they can
register to vote at their permanent place of residence in India
(constituency) as given in their passports. However, they are not
allowed to vote from overseas. They will also not be allowed to contest
the elections.
The minister said various options including online voting, could be
explored as it was not easy for the overseas Indians to come back to
vote for every elections. The government has promised to bring in
comprehensive electoral reforms legislation soon.
"We now have postal voting facility in place for troops posted on the
borders and the government staff on election duty elsewhere. However, a
similar facility would not be possible for NRIs considering the huge
size of their population (estimated to be 25mn). So we need to explore
some other options," Ravi said.
Law Minister Veerappa Moily has promised to hold a national consultation
on electoral reforms and to consider the views on the modalities for
allowing NRI voting right. He has also offered to consider Internet
voting once technical expertise and infrastructure were in place.
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