The Lok Sabha has recently approved an amendment bill to the Representation of the People Act. This suggests that overseas Indians, who are entitled to vote, can now nominate a proxy voter to cast their vote. The Representation of the People Act, 1950 and 1951, outline the guidelines for electoral rolls, voter qualifications, election conduct, and election related disputes and offences.
Major Amendments Proposed
According to the proposed amendment, overseas voters will be able to register themselves in the electoral rolls and exercise their right to vote through a proxy on display of their original passport. Previously, voting rules insisted on the physical presence of the overseas voters in their respective polling booth in India on the election day. This posed considerable inconvenience to the overseas voters who had to be present in India on election day in order to cast their vote.
Previously, only service personnel were allowed to vote by proxy. In fact, the amendment introduces a gender-neutral aspect to this rule. Earlier, only the wives of servicemen were entitled to be registered as service voters. The current amendment replaces the term ‘wife’ with ‘spouse’, thus granting the spouses of service women the same right.
NRI Population and Voting Potential
As per data from the Ministry of External Affairs, around 31 million Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) reside in various countries worldwide. A committee from the Election Commission, studying the matter, recommended changes to the electoral legislation back in 2015 to accommodate proxy voting for overseas Indians. According to a UN survey in 2015, Indian citizens form the largest diaspora population globally, with 16 million Indians living abroad.
Fears and Concerns about the New Amendment
The proposed amendment has been met with several concerns. Critics worry about the potential misuse of proxy votes. Furthermore, they argue that the amendment might violate the Constitution, which grants one vote per individual, asserting that proxy voting could transgress this rule.
There are also concerns about preserving the confidentiality of the voting process. This could be compromised if proxy voting is permitted. Critics highlight that the new amendment could violate numerous constitutional provisions, including Article 19. According to critics, there is a risk that voters may be coerced into voting for the ruling party.
Critics also argue that this legislation could skew the playing field in favor of the ruling party. They state that regional parties might lack the resources to campaign in foreign countries, while the ruling party has access to government machinery and embassies to garner support. Therefore, they claim, the bill may unduly favour the incumbent administration.
