Bill to give proxy voting rights to NRIs tabled in LS

Non resident Indians (NRIs) who are registered voters here could soon get a chance to vote in Indian elections from their place of residence abroad or through proxy voting.

Amid a din from the opposition benches on Monday afternoon, law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha to amend election laws and allow proxy voting to overseas Indians.

The bill to amend the Representation of the People Act – the law that governs elections in India – seeks to change the rules that say overseas electors have to cast their votes in person at specified polling booths in their constituencies in India.

“Thus, the said rules stipulate the physical presence of the overseas electors in the respective polling station in India on the day of the polling. This causes hardship to the overseas electors in exercising their franchise,” the bill read.

“…In view of the above difficulty faced by overseas voters, the Government has considered the feasibility of facilitating external mode of voting i.e. voting by proxy,” it added.

The bill looks to amend section 60 of the 1951 law to allow overseas electors to appoint a proxy to cast the vote on their behalf.

It also proposes changes to make provisions of a postal ballot for service voters.

Members of the armed forces, central police forces, personnel of state police forces posted outside their state and Central government employees posted outside India are eligible to be enrolled as service voters.

The wife of a service voter, if she is residing with him, is also entitled to be enlisted as a service voter in the constituency specified by that person.

The bill seeks to make the entitlement gender neutral by replacing the word ‘wife’ with ‘spouse’.

The proposed change in the law was set into motion after the Election Commission of India wrote to the law ministry in August seeking amendments in the election law and making the provision gender neutral.