Government
clears proxy vote move for NRIs….
Overseas
electors will have to appoint a nominee afresh for each election — one person
can act as proxy for only one overseas voter.
The Government approved changes in electoral laws to permit
Non-Resident Indians to cast their vote in assembly and Lok Sabha elections
from overseas. If the proposal passes political muster in Parliament, NRIs will
be able to exercise their voting rights through “proxy”. Currently, only
service personnel are permitted to vote through proxy.
However, the facility for
NRIs will not be the same as that enjoyed by service personnel. For instance,
voters in the armed forces can nominate their relatives as permanent proxy to
vote on their behalf. But the Union Cabinet’s approval for proxy voting by NRIs
carries a caveat: they cannot nominate one proxy for all polls.
Overseas electors will have to appoint a nominee afresh for
each election — one person can act as proxy for only one overseas voter. With
the Cabinet’s approval, sources said, suitable rules and guidelines will be
framed to make this move effective soon. Currently, voters residing abroad can
only cast their votes in their respective constituencies. This regulation is
seen as restrictive as only a few thousand Indians living overseas have
registered as voters, the maximum being from Kerala. Of these, barely anyone
has travelled to the country to exercise his or her franchise.
According to rough
estimates, there are about 1 crore Indians settled abroad, of which 60 lakh
could be of eligible voting age. They could hold considerable sway in election
results, especially in states such as Punjab, Gujarat and Kerala, where a number
of expats hail from.
ટિપ્પણીઓ નથી:
ટિપ્પણી પોસ્ટ કરો