NRIs can now better participate in elections
It is good that the decks have been cleared for non-resident Indians to exercise their franchise from abroad. Earlier this week, the Union Government informed the Supreme Court that it had accepted the Election Commission of India's recommendation in this regard and that a panel was being set up to study the logistics of voting from outside the country.
Some legislative changes will have to be carried out, as the Representation of the Peoples Act, 1951, currently makes it mandatory for voters to be physically present in their constituencies to cast their ballot. But given that there is bipartisan consensus on the issue, the changes should not pose any problem. The facility to vote from abroad has been a longstanding demand of India's large and growing expatriate community.
It has argued that the legislative barriers preventing it from exercising its franchise, violate its fundamental rights. The Government is duty-bound to put in place systems and processes so that all citizens of the country have an opportunity to cast their vote — even if that means setting up an entire polling station in the middle of a remote forest just to cater to one single voter. In this context, Monday's development is an important corrective step from not only a legislative or logistical point of view but also from a democratic perspective.
That it is being spearheaded by a BJP-led administration is apt, given that the party has always maintained strong connections with not just NRIs but the Indian diaspora in general. Also, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a long history of cultivating ties with the diaspora, and the special relationship that he shares with Indians abroad was especially evident during his foreign tours in recent months. In fact, the voting facility is only the latest is a series of facilities (which include improving processes relating to Persons of Indian Origin and Overseas Citizens of India) that Mr Modi had promised to the diaspora.
Once the new laws come into force, NRIs will be able to cast their votes either through trusted proxies in their home constituencies or through e-ballots, wherein the poll panel will electronically send them a ballot which will have to be returned via post. These are the two options recommended by the EC's 12-member committee which had studied the matter.
The panel had also considered voting at Indian embassies abroad and Internet voting, but both were deemed unfeasible and vulnerable to tampering. To be fair, even the approved methods are not entirely foolproof — for example, some left leaders have pointed out that the proxy ballot violates the secrecy principle — but the authorities seem to have agreed that under the circumstances, these are two most effective options available for now.
The only matter of concern here is that many NRIs don't live in India at all and, therefore, don't have to bear the consequences of their vote. This might be somewhat problematic, especially in closely contested elections. However, the benefit that the voting from abroad facility accrues to the thousands of Indians who are only temporarily away from their homeland (for example, blue-collared workers in the Gulf or white-collared workers away during election time) far outweighs these concerns. A trial run will help iron out problems.