Why can't the vote that uses notes work?

Why can't the vote that uses notes work?

Dr. Khimlal Devkota

CA Member & Senior Advocate

The country runs on remittances, i.e., money sent from abroad. Those who earn that money are not allowed to vote. This seems strange, but it is our reality. A young person cannot live in the country without going abroad because they have to vote in elections.

Decades have passed since the talk of creating employment within the country began, but every young person is forced to go abroad to run the country, run a house, raise a family, and fulfill their and their family's desires. As a result of the country's misguided economic policy, they are forced to leave their loved ones and go abroad.

 

The person who is alive, sweating in the 50-degree heat and doing risky work, unfortunately, does not have to return to the box, and, fortunately or by chance, if he survives, he can earn some money and send it home. Because of that money, he is forced to see his family's happiness on video calls. At the same time, the money sent in this way is also misused at home, and when he returns home, he is also forced to take the risk of having no home, no property, and no family. If we look at the figures of the previous elections, more than half a million voters out of 125 million voters had gone abroad. For that reason, the majority of the votes cast were considered as 100 percent, and the minority who were absent from the vote was called the majority rule. And the cry of democracy was given. This is our irony today. This is the pain of a victim and the common pain of almost everyone forced to go abroad. This article intends to discuss this issue in detail.

Remittances are enough to support employees

 

Even at the peak of the Corona crisis, Nepal's remittance figure was more than Nepal's total revenue. While remittance income was 961 billion, the revenue figure during the same period was only 889 billion. The total budget was announced at 1647 billion during the same period. The country's revenue is only enough to pay the salaries of employees. There is no alternative to relying on foreign loans and grants for development.

Even before Corona, the country's total debt was around 6 trillion. By the end of the Corona pandemic, the debt had almost tripled to over Rs 1.7 trillion. The country had to borrow again to repay foreign debt. Even after the debt reached three times, it did not have a positive impact on the country's development and prosperity. Where did that debt go? It has become a matter of investigation. Before the Corona pandemic, Nepal's public debt was about 27 percent of the gross domestic product, while at the peak of the Corona pandemic, the public debt figure exceeded almost 40 percent.

Before the Corona pandemic, that is, before the NCP-led KP Oli government took power, each Nepali had a total debt of 23,000, while today that debt has almost tripled to 60,000 per capita. According to a study, 55 percent of households depend on remittances for their daily needs. In this picture of the Nepali economy, the share of money earned by saving blood and sweat abroad is large. The amount received from remittances is more than the country's total revenue. It is enough to pay the salaries of the employees who run the country's administration.

Similarly, half of the principal and interest on the public debt is enough to pay. Where is the role of remittances in this picture of the country's economy? The question has become even more acute in the context of the issue of voting rights. Therefore, like the lyrics of the song 'Labor works, skill works, water does not work?' The question of whether the votes of Nepalis living abroad will be valid or not has become a painful one.

Almost half of the votes abroad

According to unofficial statistics, 6 million Nepalis are scattered outside the country in various countries. This is more than 20 percent of the total population of 29.192 million. If we talk about the number of voters, it is more than half. When we calculate the total number of votes cast, it is sure to be more than half.

The picture of almost half of the total voters being deprived of voting is clear. With half of the total voters absent, and only those who have voted and talk about a majority minority, a minority of the minority who talk about a majority minority by counting the votes that have been cast will definitely create a situation where the minority of the minority will wear the garland of victory. We are calling and considering this minority-victorious rule as democracy. Even though there are many candidates in the minority, our Election Commission does not consider it necessary to get a majority due to the majority voting system.

Due to this, we are forced to sing the song of democracy, seeing the dark picture of democracy going into crisis. We have a legal system that the deposit of a candidate who cannot get 10 percent of the votes is forfeited, but due to the adoption of the majority voting system and the large number of candidates, we have also had examples where a candidate who gets less than 10 percent of the votes is declared the winner and is forced to be governed. Legally, the deposit of the candidate is forfeited, but technically he is elected. We agree to be governed by a person whose deposit is forfeited. This situation shows an ugly picture of our democracy.

This overall situation is not considered good for modern democracy. Therefore, rights activists and political parties have been continuously saying that voters living abroad should get the right to vote even while living abroad. Despite this, we cannot make that arrangement, do we not want to or do we not accept it? It is not possible to say clearly.

Court order

On the one hand, a large number of voters are scattered in various countries outside the country, and on the other hand, there is a legal obligation to be physically present to vote. When a writ petition was filed in the Supreme Court regarding this, almost four years ago, i.e., in 2075, the Supreme Court issued a directive order was issued. The directive order mentions that necessary arrangements should be made to ensure the right of voters living abroad to vote in the upcoming 2079 elections.

It should be remembered that in the context of the writ petition, a written response was submitted on behalf of the state that if there is an order from the court, arrangements can be made in this regard, and that the state is also willing to do so. However, four years have passed since the order was issued. During these four years, many governments have come, gone, and changed. However, no visible steps have been taken to uphold the court order.

It seems that the Election Commission has taken the necessary preparations in this regard and started the process of amending the law. However, during the Oli government, news emerged that even the principled consent sought by the Election Commission through the Ministry of Home Affairs to make legal arrangements in this regard was refused. This shows how tolerant the Nepali state and political parties are for the right of Nepalis living abroad to vote.

International Practice

The context of exercising the right to vote by voters living abroad is very historical. It is found that such a right to vote was used during the Roman Empire. During the reign of the Roman Emperor Augustus, citizens of the 28 newly established colonies outside Rome were allowed to vote. This tradition was further strengthened during the First and Second World Wars, when it was extended to citizens who had actively participated in the war. The practice continued until later times.

New Zealand introduced this facility for seafarers in 1890, and Australia introduced it in 1902 for soldiers deployed to war.

Britain introduced postal voting, or proxy voting, for soldiers deployed to war and for seafarers during the First World War. It was reintroduced in the Falklands War in 1980.

Canada also introduced postal voting, proxy voting, or similar arrangements for soldiers deployed to war and their immediate family members from 1914 to 1955.

France and Britain continued this system for their colonies. In neighboring India, the existing law has been amended to grant voting rights to non-resident Indians (NRIs) or Indians living abroad for more than 6 months since 2010. In addition, proxy voting has also been provided.

Another neighboring country, Bangladesh, has a postal voting system. This system is in place in countries such as Indonesia, Colombia, Spain, Argentina, Switzerland, Honduras, Austria, the Dominican Republic, and Crooked Island.

It is also practiced in countries such as South Africa, Namibia, Palestine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Afghanistan, and Guam, which are in a state of transition. According to a study published at the end of 2020 by the intergovernmental organization International Idea, 73 percent of the world's 207 countries allow voting while outside the country. It shows that out-of-country voting (OCV) is adopted and 27 percent are not.

If 73 percent of the world's countries have given voting rights to voters living abroad, why can't Nepal be included in the list of those countries? The question has now become clear. The Supreme Court has also issued a directive order regarding the right to vote for Nepalis living abroad. In this situation, it is necessary to pressure the state to implement the system, and the state must also make necessary preparations accordingly.

Management Question

To ensure the system of giving voting rights to voters living abroad, the first priority should be to identify who is a Nepali citizen and who is not. Updating the voter list and ensuring that legitimate voters can participate in the vote is the next step.

You should vote from the embassy from your convenient location or vote before the voting day, i.e., through the advance voting system or online voting or other appropriate measures should be adopted. It is necessary to discuss and reach a conclusion on what is appropriate for Nepal.

There is a large group who are deprived of voting even while staying in their own country. Within that, what other measures can be taken to ensure that employees or security personnel deployed in the election can vote in advance or arrange for online voting? This can protect the right to vote. It is also necessary to discuss this and draw conclusions.

The additional complexity of the electoral system adopted by the country is also with us. For this, it is necessary to improve the electoral system and also arrange a different system for voters living abroad. The principles, such as voters having to be present in person, voting on time, and voting in the presence of a polling officer with a voter ID card, cannot be applied in this situation. Therefore, it is necessary to amend the existing law.

Finally, the right to vote while abroad is not just a matter of whether a country accepts it or not. The right to vote and the right to be elected are also human rights guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This has also been recognized by Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and Article 41 of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (ICMW).

This convention is even more attractive for countries like Nepal that have made a policy on foreign employment and send their citizens for work. At the same time, it also creates international obligations.

Therefore, in the case of Nepal, this issue is not limited to the internal affairs of a country but has also become a matter of international human rights and international obligations. If a policy is made not to hire workers from countries that do not accept international obligations, Nepal will be forced to grant voting rights to voters abroad. It would be better to guarantee this right on its own initiative.

The Non-Resident Nepali Association is an active organization in the context of Nepal. Its impact is significant in the Nepali economic, social, and cultural sectors. In addition, it is self-evident that it will also occur in the political sector. However, since Nepali citizens living abroad who have obtained Nepali citizenship and have not renounced Nepali citizenship in accordance with the prevailing Nepali law can remain on the voter list and vote, this community's great demand can be addressed.

It is necessary to do something to ensure that our citizens do not miss this opportunity to obtain the right to vote and fulfill the commitment they have made repeatedly when they go abroad. Local elections are just around the corner. Only if necessary legal arrangements can be made during the federal and provincial elections will it be a great task.

Let us hope that the slogan that the right to vote is a fundamental right, the right of every citizen to vote is the infrastructure of an advanced democracy, will be meaningful.