Opposition parties and experts have expressed caution against the Election Commission’s proposal to introduce a remote voting facility, saying the concept is unclear and implementing it would make elections unfair.
If implemented, the remote voting initiative would allow domestic migrants to vote in elections occurring in their home constituencies from their current place of residence.
The Opposition’s main concern is that regional parties, who do not have as many resources as their larger competitors, will be unable to deploy polling agents in remote polling stations in other parts of the country. Polling agents are personnel appointed by candidates to represent them at polling stations to protect interests by ensuring the voting process is free and fair.
Similarly, the proposal to use a modified version of electronic voting machines now being used has fanned long-standing allegations about the devices being manipulated.
Tackling migrant disenfranchisement
The Election Commission claims the remote voting initiative will enable domestic migrants living anywhere in the country to participate in elections without having to travel to their home constituencies or re-registering their place of residence.
The Commission suggests voters failing to register in their new place of residence leads to lower voter turnouts, citing the 67.4% voter turnout in the 2019 general election. The proposed initiative is meant to help…
