Bhadra Sharma

Election Commission (EC) has started preparations to enlist the Nepali diaspora as voters for the first time. Countries with over a hundred thousand Nepalis’ population will be targeted initially in the voters’ registration drive.

Officials at the EC said separate teams will leave for Qatar, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates (UAE) for feasible study by the end of June, after a nationwide campaign completes digital voter registration. Once the feasibility study is complete in these countries, the EC team will move to other destinations on the basis of population.

The study team will comprise senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Labour and Transport Management and EC, according to EC Spokesman Sharada Prasad Trital. However, Nepalis living in India will be deprived of this scheme.

According to the Department of Foreign Employment under the Ministry of Labour and Transport Management around 2 million Nepalis have legally left the country for employment for countries aside from India. It is reported that tens of thousands of Nepalis are living abroad illegally while the number of Nepali students studying in foreign universities is increasing every year.   

But EC has no immediate plans for introducing postal or e-voting. According to officials, some EC related regulation and directives should be amended before starting the voter registration programme. Following the Supreme Court verdict to “register voters only on the basis of citizenship certificates”, EC is preparing to list only those Nepalis who have passports.

Till date, 3.08 million voters have been registered.  “Our programme is running smoothly except in some eastern region districts,” said Acting EC Chief Neel Kantha Uprety.

Published on: 3 May 2011 | The Kathmandu Post