KATHMANDU, JUNE 9
Member of the National Assembly Kamala Panta urged the government to introduce a bill in the Parliament to ensure voting rights for millions of Nepalis working abroad.
Speaking at the NA, Nepali Congress lawmaker Panta said that despite the Supreme Court passing an order four years ago in favour of external voting, the government had not ensured voting rights for Nepalis living abroad. She said migrant workers living abroad could not exercise their voting right, an important fundamental right, in the recently held local elections due to the government's apathy, but the same should not happen in the next parliamentary and provincial polls likely before mid-November.
She reminded the government to bring a bill immediately to ensure voting rights for Nepali migrant workers living abroad.
"We use the remittance sent by Nepali migrant workers from abroad to run our economy, but we are not ensuring their voting rights," Panta said. She added that it would be difficult to expect migrant workers to come home to cast their votes during elections.
Chief Election Commissioner Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya said lawmakers needed to make laws to ensure voting rights for migrant workers as existing laws did not allow the EC to set up polling booths out of the country. "As far as out-of-country voting is concerned, it's time for lawmakers to act and not just talk," Thapaliya said. He said the government had the option of passing a new bill through the Parliament or bringing an ordinance to address urgent issues.
Once the government announces parliamentary and provincial polls, the Election Commission cannot register new voters, Thapaliya said hinting that even if a new law was made, it might not be possible for the EC to ensure external voting in the next general election.
The government is preparing to hold the next parliamentary elections by mid-November and the EC normally needs 120 days for poll preparation.
Spokesperson for the Election Commission Shaligram Sharma Paudel said the EC was serious about ensuring voting rights for Nepali migrants and had been reminding the government about the same. "The Supreme Court has directed the government and the EC to ensure migrant workers' voting rights by enacting a new law, but the Parliament is yet to enact a new law," he said.
Paudel said lawmakers needed to think about which modes – postal or online voting would be appropriate for the country. "Even the United States of America has not been able to ensure online voting," Paudel said.
Coordinator of Bibeksheel Sajha Party Milan Pandey said depriving millions of Nepalis living abroad of their voting rights was a gross violation of their human rights.
He said his party had given the slogan of Note chalne tara vote nachalne (migrant workers' remittance is welcome but they are not allowed to vote at their destinations) to highlight importance of voting rights for migrant workers.
Pandey said political leadership of major parties had either not fully understood the issue or they were fearful that external voting would reduce their domineering position in national politics.
"Major political forces are wary that our party won three provincial assembly seats and now independent candidates have won local election in Kathmandu and other places," Pandey said.
He added that depriving migrant workers of their voting rights was indicative of the fact that the country was practising only quasi-democracy.
He said lawyers could move private bills to build pressure on the government to pass a new bill to ensure out-of-country voting.
External voting is allowed by 115 countries and territories in the world.
A version of this article appears in the print on June 10, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
