All parties in Kerala agree to online voting for the Diaspora.
By Dileep Thekkethil
BENGALURU: Expatriates from Kerala may be allowed to vote online in future elections.
According to reports, all parties that attended a meeting in the state, except the Communist Party of India (Marxist), extended their support for expanding the online voting right to immigrants settled mostly in Gulf countries.
During the meeting, which was chaired by the Chief Minister of Kerala Oommen Chandy, all parties ridiculed the idea of enforcing proxy votes.
A CPI(M) spokesperson was later quoted saying that the party was not against the online voting, but against the method in which the government plans to conduct it. He added that before implementing online voting, the government should consult with experts to cross check everything is fool proof.
The Kerala diaspora, which numbers close to 2.3 million, has been requesting voting rights for quite some time. But it is believed that not all of them will get the right to vote for their party online due to various reasons.
According to the election commission, the final list of voters is getting ready for the three tier local body elections in Kerala, which is scheduled for the month of October. The newly elected members will take office on November 1, which is also marks the birth of the state of Kerala.
Once all political parties come to a resolution on the online voting issue, the government of Kerala will intimate the state election commission, which is the body that is entitled to take a decision on whether to allow online voting or not.