(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) With the indian parliamentary elections well under way and with them recording good voter turnouts will non-resident indians (nris) too be able to vote this season?
The election commission of india last week informed the supreme court that it is exploring the possibility of giving indians overseas the chance to vote through the internet.
However chances of this materialising seem slim as a court bench headed by justice k. s. radhakrishnan said that it is near impossible to make these arrangements for nris this year as electoral rolls have already been finalised in almost all constituencies.
In dubai there are mixed responses to whether the online voting option for nris of the world’s largest democracy would materialise and if so is it a good thing.
Entrepreneur and philanthropist bharatbhai shah is an emphatic yet perhaps minority voice in saying nris should not be allowed to vote.
According to shah voting rights to nris would tamper with the unity and harmony of the indian community in the gulf. shah thinks if this right is allowed then political parties will come to campaign here and this “wouldn’t be appreciated by the local government”.
The supreme court bench in india though asked the election commission to look into the possibility of introducing such a system in this election itself for the 11844 registered nri voters.
The commission submitted that it has appointed a committee to explore the possibility of allowing nris to cast their votes from overseas.
The court was hearing a public interest litigation (pil) filed by dubai-based nri shamsheer v. p. who was travelling when khaleej times tried to contact him as his office manager said.
Shamsheer’s contention is that the existing provision which mandates nri voters to be physically present in the constituency to exercise their votes is discriminatory and that it violates the fundamental rights of even nris.
Kamlesh skaria is 29 and works as a domestic cook in at least five homes in dubai. a native of kolkata kamlesh wishes he could vote out mamata bannerjee from his home state. last elections he voted for the communist party of india (marxist) and this time too he said if he were back home he would vote “didi” as mamata is popularly known’ out. the concept of online voting was unheard of for kamlesh but he expressed interest in the possibility of being able to cast a vote for kolkata sitting in karama.
K. v. shamsudheen chairman of the pravasi bandhu welfare trust is all for e-voting for nris. “of the 11400 registered voters the malyalees at least have been demanding for a long time the right to exercise their franchise from overseas” he said.
“the only way for that to happen is if the biometric system comes into play and retains the sanctity of the secret ballot. voting for nris is a right that should be granted by the government.”
The government of india had permitted it but as shamsudheen says “the unfortunate condition is the nri must be present in his/her home constituency and that is not possible for us to go back to vote”.
— nivriti?khaleejtimes.com
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