Top Stories

PTI file photo used for illustrative purposes
PTI file photo used for illustrative purposes

Postal voting for Indians in UAE, GCC ‘under consideration’

Dubai - India's government is reportedly planning to run a pilot phase for NRIs in non-Gulf countries.

by

Dhanusha Gokulan

  • Follow us on
  • google-news
  • whatsapp
  • telegram

Published: Mon 22 Feb 2021, 8:04 PM

Last updated: Mon 22 Feb 2021, 8:08 PM

The Election Commission of India (ECI) is working closely with the federal government to find an early resolution to the long-standing issue on the voting rights of non-resident Indians (NRI).

If India’s government and election commission rule in favour of petitioners, millions of NRIs in the UAE and other Gulf countries will be able to vote in the coming state elections in Kerala, West Bengal, Chennai and Puducherry.


The ECI released an official statement on Monday after Dr Shamsheer Vayalil — chairman and managing director of the UAE’s VPS Healthcare and a petitioner in the PIL filed before the Supreme Court of India — visited Sunil Arora, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India.

“Dr Vayalil met CEC to press for an early resolution to extending the facility of electronically transmitted postal ballot system (ETPBS) to the Indian diaspora settled abroad. He was informed the matter is under active and empathic consideration of the ECI,” read the statement.


Dr Shamsheer had met the ECI amidst reports that the government is planning to grant postal voting rights to NRIs in non-Gulf countries in the first phase.

Earlier reports indicated that the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had expressed reservations in introducing postal voting in Gulf countries. It was reportedly known that there were plans to run a pilot phase in the US, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, Australia, Germany, France, and South Africa.

As per the data available with the MEA, around nine million Indian citizens are residing in the six GCC countries. If the government approves postal voting rights to all NRIs, these people will be able to exercise their right without having to travel to their respective constituencies. The GCC accounts for majority of NRIs.

After meeting with Arora, Dr Vayalil, told the UAE media in a statement: “The meeting in New Delhi was very positive. The ECI acknowledged and appreciated the legal battle in which I have been involved for the last several years.”

He added: “The ECI has assured that the needful with regard to NRI voting rights is under the consideration of the ECI and the Central Government. The EC and the officers of the Law Ministry and Ministry of External Affairs are working together to bring an early resolution to the issue. I hope that the benefit of postal voting for NRIs will be extended as early as possible, preferably this year. The meeting was very fruitful as can be gauged by the official statement released by the ECI.”

Dr Vayalil also met Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and sought the support of the central government on the matter.

Currently, under existing laws, NRIs shall travel to their respective constituency to exercise their right to vote. However, majority of NRIs have found this process “expensive and impractical”. If the central government amends the Representation of the People Act 1951, it would empower millions of NRIs to participate in the democratic process. Though the Lok Sabha had passed a bill allowing proxy voting in 2018, the bill had lapsed due to the dissolution of the parliament ahead of the 2019 elections.

dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com


More news from