NRIs can vote only if present at India address
In line with the promise made by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh that NRI’s will be granted voting rights, the Election Commission of India has announced that they will be able to vote in the forthcoming Assembly polls.
But the caveat is that they have to be physically present to exercise their franchise. Also, CEC S.Y. Quraishi on Sunday called on state governments going to the polls, to present a vote-on-account and not a full-fledged Budget.
Overseas affairs minister Mr Vayalar Ravi said, “Citizens of India living abroad, who have not acquired the citizenship of any other country, can make an application in Form 6A directly to the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) of the constituency within which the place of residence of the applicant as given in the valid passport falls.”
For enrolment, an NRI would have to send an application along with a copy of the passport and other documents attested by an official of the Indian embassy there. The decision of the ERO will be communicated to the address given by the NRI and also through an SMS.
The CEC’s comment comes in the backdrop of W. Bengal Speaker Mr H.A. Halim’s view that the EC should have taken into account the Budget session, while finalising the schedule. Mr Quarishi said, “Model Code of Conduct does not apply to internal functioning of state legislatures. But there is a sound convention that poll bound states do not present full scale Budget during the Model Code of Conduct and instead go for vote-on-account.”
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