Cabinet clears proxy voting for NRIs

The Union Cabinet today cleared a proposal to extend proxy voting to overseas Indians by amending electoral laws, a senior government functionary said.

For overseas Indians, the Representation of the People Act needs to be amended to include proxy voting as other means to cast their votes.

While NRIs and overseas Indians are free to cast their votes in constituencies where they are registered, according to the proposal, they would also be allowed to use the option of proxy, which as of now is only available to service personnel.

An expert committee in the Election Commission working on the issue had, in 2015, forwarded the legal framework to the law ministry to amend electoral laws to allow overseas Indians use proxy voting.

Data shows that only 10,000 to 12,000 NRIs have voted because they do not want to spend foreign currency to come to India and exercise their franchise.