Good news for Indians residing abroad. According to a press release issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice, a NRI could be allowed to enter the electoral rolls under the Registration of Electors (Amendment) Rules, 2011..Good news for Indians residing abroad. According to a press release issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice, a NRI could be allowed to enter the electoral rolls under the Registration of Electors (Amendment) Rules, 2011..The PIB release dated February 3, 2011 states, “The Central Government, in consultation with the Election Commission, prepared and published the Registration of Electors (Amendment) Rules, 2011 to enable the Registration Officers to enrol the eligible overseas electors in the electoral rolls. The Government has also published a new Form 6A for enabling the overseas electors to make the application for inclusion of their names in the electoral rolls”..At present, the citizens of India who are not ordinarily resident in India are not entitled to get their names registered as voters in the Assembly / Parliamentary constituency. The Representation of the People Act, 1950 (Amendment Act) seeks to amend the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and confer voting rights to citizens of India who are not residing in their ordinary residence in India owing to their employment, education or otherwise. They shall be entitled to have their names registered in the electoral roll in their respective Assembly / Parliamentary constituencies..The ET quoting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, said, “I recognise the legitimate desire of Indians living abroad to exercise their franchise and to have a say in who governs India. We are working on this issue and I sincerely hope that they will get a chance to vote by the time of the next regular general elections”..Voting rights have always been demanded by NRI’s, but the matter has been pending. The Cabinet cleared amendments to the Amendment Act to give NRI’s an electoral voice in 2006. The year 2006, also saw the Amendment Act placed before the Rajya Sabha which referred it to a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice. The report was subsequently given to the Ministry of Law and Justice for examination. We understand that the Amendment Act is pending before the Ministry of Law and Justice.
