Context: According to the data released by the Election Commission, 1,19,374 citizens are registered as overseas electors in 2024. However, only 2,958 overseas electors flew down to India to participate in the General Elections. Of these, a maximum of 2,670 were from Kerala alone.
Relevance of the Topic: Prelims: Key facts about Overseas Voters; Proxy voting in India; Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System
Background:
- The government of India has provisions to allow its citizens to cast a vote during an election in three different ways:
- in Person
- though Postal Voting
- through Proxy Voting.
About Overseas Elector/Voter
Definition:
- An overseas elector is a person who is a citizen of India and is eligible to be registered as a voter and who is absent from his place of ordinary residence in India owing to employment, education etc.
- He is eligible to be registered as a voter in the constituency as mentioned in his passport.
- According to the provisions of Section 20A of the Representation of People Act, 1950, an Non Residential Indian (NRI) settled in foreign land can become an elector in the electoral roll in India.
Eligibility:
- Every Indian citizen, who has attained the age of 18 years on the qualifying date, is eligible to be registered as a voter in the roll of the part/polling area of the constituency where he is ordinarily resident.
- A person who is not a citizen of India is not eligible for registration as a voter in the electoral rolls in India.
- Those who have ceased to be citizens of India on acquiring the citizenship of another country are not eligible to be enrolled in the electoral rolls in India.
Process for an Overseas Indian (NRI) to get Registered in the Electoral Roll:
- He has to file an application for the purpose in prescribed Form 6A before the Electoral Registration Officer of the constituency within which the place of ordinary residence of the applicant in India as given in his passport.
- The application accompanied by self-attested copy of the relevant documents can be filed:
- in person before the concerned Electoral Registration Officer / Assistant Electoral Registration Officer or
- sent by post addressed to him or
- can be filed online on the website of the Chief Electoral Officer of the concerned state or the website of the Election Commission of India.
- Overseas Indians are not eligible for Proxy voting as of now.
Proxy Voting in India and Overseas Voters:
- Proxy voting allows a registered elector to delegate his voting rights to a representative he nominates.
- Proxy voting is not available to overseas voters, it is currently limited to classified service voters serving in the armed forces or paramilitary forces only. The proxy also must be a registered voter of the same constituency.
- In 2018, the 16th Lok Sabha passed a bill to allow proxy voting rights to eligible overseas Indians. The bill, however, could not be brought to the Rajya Sabha.
- In 2020, the ECI proposed to the Union Law Ministry to extend the Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System (ETPBS) facility to eligible overseas Indian voters. So far, it is available only to the service voters.
- Since it requires changes in the election rules, the government has so far not taken a call on the issue.
Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System (ETPBS):
- The Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System (ETPBS) is developed by the ECI and implemented in line with the existing Postal Ballot System.
- Postal Ballot will be transmitted through electronic means to the voters. It enables the voters to cast their vote on an electronically received postal ballot from their preferred location, which is outside their originally assigned voting constituency, and send back the marked postal ballot through the post.
- In the ETPBS system this postal ballot is sent in two parts i.e., e-Postal Ballot and e-PB PIN.
- The e-Postal Ballot is sent to the Unit officer of the service officer which will be a password protected PDF.
- Similarly the e-PB PIN will be sent to the Record officer of the service voter.
- The Service voter has to collect e-PB and e-PB PIN from both officers, take print outs and follow the instructions to cast the vote. The e-PB needs to be sent on the provided address before the counting date by Post.
Hence, at present the overseas voters in India can only vote by being physically present at their polling station. The facility of Proxy voting and the Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System (ETPBS) are not yet available to them.