Out of nearly 11.4 million non-resident Indians across the globe, only 16,000 are registered as ‘overseas Indian voters’ in the country. To identify this gap, the Election Commission has decided to conduct an online survey for overseas Indians to assess their level of awareness about the registration and voting process and to also gather opinion about their preferred method of voting.
Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi said the poll panel wants to systematically address challenges that overseas citizens might face for which it is conducting the online survey so that interventions can be designed accordingly. The Representation of the People Act, 1950 was amended in February 2011 to allow Indian citizens residing outside the country to get enrolled as a voter and cast vote. But many find it difficult to come to India to cast their vote.
With a bid to attract more votes from overseas Indians, the Election Commission intends to compile the data and share it with the Government and Parliament. The survey will run through November and December. An online competition will also be conducted as part of the survey by the end of this month.