Overseas/NRI Electors

It’s a recent proposal from the Election Commission to the Law Ministry. How do NRIs vote in Indian elections at present? If the proposal is cleared, how will the system of postal ballots work?

• Recently, the Election Commission of India (ECI) wrote to the Law Ministry, proposing to extend the facility of postal ballots to (eligible) overseas, non-resident Indians (NRIs) for the Assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal in 2021.
• The ECI proposed amending the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, in order to allow this facility.
• The postal ballots will be sent to NRIs electronically and they will send these ballots after choosing their candidate via post.
• This partially electronic facility is now available for service voters (being a member of the Armed Forces of the Union; or a member of a force to which provisions of the Army Act, 1950 (46 of 1950), have been made applicable whether with or without modification; a member of an Armed Police Force of a State, and serving outside that State; or a person who is employed under the Government of India, in a post outside India).and is being sought to be extended to overseas NRI voters.

What is the current process of voting for Indian citizens living abroad?

• Prior to 2010, an Indian citizen who is an eligible voter and was residing abroad for more than six months owing to employment, education or otherwise, would not have been able to vote in elections. This was because the NRI’s name was deleted from electoral rolls if he or she stayed outside the country for more than six months at a stretch.
• After the passing of the Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 2010, eligible NRIs who had stayed abroad beyond six months have been enabled to vote, but only in person at the polling station where they have been enrolled as an overseas elector.

What is the current strength of NRI voters? 

• According to a UN report of 2015, India’s diaspora population is the largest in the world at 16 million people.
• Registration of NRI voters, in comparison, has been very low: a little over one lakh overseas Indians registered as voters in India, according to the EC.
• In last year’s Lok Sabha elections, roughly 25,000 of them flew to India to vote.

What is ETPBS (Electronically transmitted Postal Ballot System) and how does it function?

• Electronically transmitted Postal Ballot System (ETPBS) is developed by the Election Commission of India with the help of the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), for the use of the Service Voters. It is a fully secured system, having two layers of security.
• The Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 was amended in 2016 to allow service voters to use the ETPBS. Under this system, postal ballots are sent electronically to registered service voters.
• The ECI now proposes to extend this facility to overseas voters as well.

Overseas/NRI Electors 

Postal ballots

NRIs

Assembly elections in India

provisions of the Army Act, 1950

NRI voters

Indian citizens

Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 2010

ETPBS

Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC)

Conduct of Election Rules, 1961

Election Commission of India 

Electronically transmitted Postal Ballot System (ETPBS)

What is the Election Commission’s proposal and how can it be made possible for non-resident Indians?

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