By Neeraj Nanda
Melbourne: The Indian government has finally announced the rules and regulations under which Non Resident Indians (NRIs) will be able to vote in elections for the Lok Sabha , Assemblies and local bodies. A report in the Hindustan Times (4-02-2011) says that people can vote if they have an Indian passport (Indian citizen & has not acquired any other countries citizenship), living overseas, physically present in the country and constituency (with passport containing photographs and visa documents at the time of vote and registered with the Election Commission.
“Every overseas elector, who is not otherwise disqualified for registration and wants to be registered on the address mentioned in his passport may make an application to the officer concerned directly or send it by post,“ the Law Ministry says.
The HT story further quotes the Law Ministry as saying, “In case of the applications to be sent by post, the applicants will have to send their details and a photocopy of their passport containing photographs and visa documents. All these copies should be duly attested by a competent official of the Indian mission at their destination. If the requirements are not met, the applications will be rejected.”