India’s top poll body considering an electronically transmitted postal ballot system (ETPBS) facility for Non-Resident Indians
The Election Commission of India (ECI) is considering an electronically transmitted postal ballot system (ETPBS) facility for Indians (Non-Resident Indians), so they can cast votes for elections in India.
For this, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sushil Chandra called upon NRIs to register as overseas electors. During his recent visit to South Africa and Mauritius, the CEC explained a proposal on postal ballots for NRIs.
The ECI mentioned these developments in a statement issued on Friday (April 22, 2022). A delegation comprising officials of India’s top election body visited South Africa and Mauritius from April 9-19. The delegation was led by CEC Sushil Chandra, who held multiple meetings to gather input on conducting free and fair elections.
“During this visit, a series of meetings were held with the election commissions of South Africa and Mauritius, as well as interactions with the NRI community in the two countries… Both election management bodies are also MoU partners with ECI. The three countries share a relationship which is fundamental, unique and rooted in the collective experiences and cumulative strength of their people,” the ECI statement said.”
Indian Law Minister Kiren Rijiju also had made a statement in the Lok Sabha in March that the government was exploring the possibility of allowing online voting for NRIs
“He [Chandra] said that South Africa has made big strides in democracy and would be hosting the next general assembly of AWEB in October 2022. India has a very intense and active association with AWEB. Both India and South Africa are the founding members of this organisation. He stated that coming to the land which made Mahatma out of Gandhiji and the land of Nelson Mandela was a veritable pilgrimage for him,” the ECI statement said.
Chandra spoke of the ECI’s experience of conducting elections in India, which constitutes 950 million voters in over 1 million polling stations.
The talks about NRIs being given voting facilities through online voting have been going on for long. In 2020 ECI had written to the Law Ministry to allow NRIs to vote through postal ballots. The matter has been under the government’s consideration since then.
Indian Law Minister Kiren Rijiju also had made a statement in the Lok Sabha in March that the government was exploring the possibility of allowing online voting for NRIs.
******************************************************************
Readers
These are extraordinary times. All of us have to rely on high-impact, trustworthy journalism. And this is especially true of the Indian Diaspora. Members of the Indian community overseas cannot be fed with inaccurate news.
Pravasi Samwad is a venture that has no shareholders. It is the result of an impassioned initiative of a handful of Indian journalists spread around the world. We have taken the small step forward with the pledge to provide news with accuracy, free from political and commercial influence. Our aim is to keep you, our readers, informed about developments at ‘home’ and across the world that affect you.
Please help us to keep our journalism independent and free.
In these difficult times, to run a news website requires finances. While every contribution, big or small, will makes a difference, we request our readers to put us in touch with advertisers worldwide. It will be a great help.
For more information: pravasisamwad00@gmail.com
