Giving voting rights to NRIs not easy, says Chawla
April 19th, 2010 - 6:26 pm ICT by IANS
Thiruvananthapuram, April 19 (IANS) Even though the Manmohan Singh government is keen to give voting rights to non-resident Indians (NRIs), Chief Election Commissioner Navin Chawla says it appears this may not be an easy task.
Interacting with reporters here, Chawla said the Election Commission wrote to the government last month about the issues involved in NRI voting.
“NRIs are settled all over the world. They come from various states and various constituencies. In big countries, there would be quite a number of places where votes may have to be cast,” said Chawla.
“The Election Commission will need to carry the voting machines to all these places and bring them back safely,” said Chawla.
He added that the commission will have limited time - from the date of announcing the list of candidates till the polling date - to complete the process.
The current rule dealing with a voter’s minimum stay in a constituency before being eligible to vote may also require changes, said Chawla.
Chawla said that currently voters in 82 percent of the country have an election photo identity card (EPIC) and their names appear on photo electoral rolls.
“We have taken Kerala’s efforts in achieving a 100 percent record as a role model and we expect that by the end of the next year, voters in the entire country will have EPIC and their names will appear in photo electoral rolls,” added Chawla.
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- Authorities urge non-resident Keralites to enrol for voting - Mar 02, 2011
- Bengalis living abroad may vote in assembly polls - Feb 16, 2011
- Qatar NRIs welcome voting rights, but confused about logistics - Mar 18, 2011
- Notification for NRIs' voting rights out: Minister - Oct 09, 2010
- Court dismisses plea on irregularities in electoral rolls - Feb 09, 2011
- Vote without fear, Election Commission tells electorate - Apr 12, 2011
- Notices to Gujarat government, poll panel on voters' list 'irregularities' - Aug 13, 2010
- Country-wide programmes to mark National Voters' Day - Jan 24, 2011
- Finger printing, spot photos of all voters soon: CEC - Feb 01, 2012
- 'Demand to vote by NRIs driven by desire to contest elections' - Feb 04, 2011
- Rajya Sabha okays bill for voting rights to NRIs - Aug 31, 2010
Tags: chief election commissioner, constituencies, constituency, election commission, electoral rolls, indians, limited time, manmohan, manmohan singh, navin chawla, photo, role model, thiruvananthapuram, voting machines, voting rights