Voting right to NRI like catching moon from the earth

By Satnam Singh Chahal (Executive Director North American Punjabi Association (NAPA)

Email:-media@thenapa.com

There are 30 million Indians which includes NRI’S & PIO”s residing in various countries around the globe and out of these there are 5 million are eligible for votes and their participation in electoral process can make a difference. Most of these eligible voters are not registered and for that there is a need to provide voter registration facilities at the Indian missions abroad. Most of them they do not have the Indian passports because the Government of India is not allowing the Indian Embassies abroad to issue them Indian passports as they had taken political asylum due to economic reasons to settle in different countries

The opportunity provided to NRI community eligible registered voters to exercise their voting rights and participate in all electoral processes in our home land is highly commendable, but it is disappointed that on account of lack of suitable mechanism, the voters cannot participate in the election process. It requires physical presence in India to cast the votes but due to long distance involved and economic burden of travelling it is not feasible.

We suggested to former election commissioner of India Mr S.Y.Qureshi during a meeting with him in New Delhi for considering arrangement of voting facilities in the Indian missions abroad or allowing voting by mail on the lines of privileges given to members of the armed forces, security personal and the staff on election duty. These proposals are still under consideration and NRI Community is feeling that right to vote to NRI is like catching a moon from the earth .On the contrary American voters sitting in their homes and offices across the globe, hundreds of thousands of Americans are busy choosing the next leader of the world’s biggest superpower. It is as easy and as quick as ordering a burger But, what about the world’s largest democracy? India boasts of having sent our nearly seven million of its Diaspora to countries in every corner of the planet. Yet, in this day and age of highly advanced communications technology, its citizens are required to be present at the rickety polling booths in India to be able to exercise their right of adult franchise. With elections looming over one of the most prolific manpower exporting states, Gujarat, Kerala and Punjab and general elections due thereafter, many overseas Indians and their organizations have renewed the demand for absentee voting. This is very unfortunate that if the underdeveloped countries like Bangladesh and Pakistan can arrange easy mechanicism for their overseas residing cirtizens to cast their vote then why not Indian government ? Our Parliament had approved voting rights for non-resident Indians in elections with the Lok Sabha adopting the Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill, 2010.But this is more than unfortunate that for the forthcoming Parliament elections only 11,844 NRI voters are registered out of one crore NRI, S. Decision made by the govt. is to be appreciated as the long awaiting demand of NRI's is fulfilled. But it is impossible to travel to India by all NRIs to cast their votes. Why the Govt. cannot make the facilities to cast the vote at the relevant Indian Embassies and Consulates in the relevant countries. If this facility is not implemented, the decision is just like to say "everybody is allowed to catch the moon from the earth". In one hand Govt. wants to take the advantage and credit by showing they had the courage to implement this decision and on the other hand they don't want to get it done for the NRI's. Government of India should make amendments to “The Representation of People act to have a provision for Absentee Voting Facility for Indians living abroad. Available options for Absentee Voting Facility can be as under

(1)Postal Ballot- Election commission by itself or through Indian Consulates overseas posts the ballots to NRIs and then NRIs would post it back to the specified address

(2) Internet Voting- Registered NRI voters can use internet to print ballot paper and submit online. Election commission (EC) can upload e-ballot to the EC’s website and NRIs can download, exercise their franchise and send it back as per the norms (could be attach attested passport identification page copy, proof of residence etc.) defined by EC. It’s a safe and secure way of voting by any Indian citizen residing overseas. We strongly believe that for all practical purposes, option 3 - Combination of Internet and Postal Ballot is more practical, reasonable and feasible solution in current situation. Some of the countries that allow their citizens abroad to vote include Italy, France, Australia, New Zealand, US, Britain, Philippines and Mexico. Countries that, like Ireland, do not allow their emigrants to vote include , Hungary, South Africa, Zimbabwe, El Salvador and Nepal, South Africa and El Salvador, Hungary have all since announced voting rights for their emigrants. Overseas citizens from Zimbabwe are campaigning for the right to vote and a Nepalese emigrant is taking his country to court over the issue. Currently there are around 115 countries and territories – including nearly all developed nations – those have systems in place to allow their emigrants to vote. And the number is growing. Even countries with very high rates of emigration, such as Italy, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico have recently allowed their expats to vote. Since this was written in 2007, there has been an accelerating trend toward allowing overseas citizens to vote - the number would now be substantially higher than the estimate from

A 2006 study of countries that allow their emigrants to vote included:

• 21 African nations

• 13 North and South American countries

• 15 Asian countries

• 6 Pacific countries

• 36 European countries.

Sixty-five of these countries allow for external voting for everyone, while about 25 place restrictions on it, based on such factors as to whether they intend to return permanently or how long they have been away. Citizens in the US can vote no matter how long they stay away, while citizens of Britain are disqualified after fifteen years away.

Ireland

Irish people living abroad currently have no voting rights. This situation is becoming somewhat unusual in an international context. Some countries, like France, reserve seats in their parliaments for citizens who live abroad, while others vote in the constituency in which they used to live. Other countries only allow for votes in national or presidential elections. Some countries require their emigrants to return home to cast ballots, while others send out postal ballots, and others organize for citizens to vote in person at their Embassies abroad

Ireland is in a highly unusual situation in our increasingly globalised world, in not allowing the majority of its overseas citizens any say in the political process. Members of the armed forces and the diplomatic services are able to vote in elections, while only NUI and Trinity graduates can vote in the Seanad(Senate) Beyond these exceptions, only those who are ordinarily resident may vote. Many people within Ireland are at first leery of allowing emigrants to vote, pointing out that, with such a high number of emigrants abroad, Ireland would be overwhelmed. Others point to Ireland’s system of proportional representation, and suggest that elections in close constituencies could be held up waiting for a box of votes to arrive from Boston or Berlin. The fact is that there is a wide variety of solutions for the emigrant voting conundrum, and every country has dealt with the issue in a different way. It’s not an all or nothing proposition. While a 2006 study found that 65 countries allowed external voting for all, 26 countries placed restrictions on which of their expats could vote, making the right conditional on the length of time they have been away, their intent to return, or their location. A few countries disqualify citizens from voting after a certain period of time – the UK allows expats to vote only for the first 15 years away, for example.

The forms of voting are also diverse – some require voters to do so in person, at either consulates or embassies or by returning home to cast the ballot; others allow voting by mail or fax, a handful by proxy, and some by a combination of the above methods.

Voting right of Non-Resident Bangladeshis

(A) Bangladeshi citizens who are settled in foreign countries temporarily:-People under this category have opted to settle in a foreign country temporarily for various reasons (e.g. many Bangladeshis are staying abroad for employment, business, study or just to stay with their spouses or families), and have not received citizenship from their host countries.(B) Bangladeshi citizens who are settled permanently in foreign countries but have not yet received citizenship from the host countries: Many Bangladeshis settlers have been residing for years in the Middle Eastern countries, including Saudi Arabia, but the immigration laws of those countries have no provision for awarding citizenship to foreigners.(C) Bangladeshi citizens who are settled permanently in foreign countries and have received citizenship from the host countries: Many Bangladeshis have received citizenship of UK, USA, New Zealand, and many other countries.(D) Undocumented NRBs: Bangladeshi who have illegally migrated to and settled in foreign countries.

Non-Resident Bangladeshis (of prescribed age to be voters) who fall under the category (A) stated above should have the right to be voters because the state, either legally or morally, cannot curtail this natural right. However, whether their names will be registered in the voters list in their absence or whether they can apply their franchise right from abroad is a policy matter of the state. But, whether the NRBs of categories (B), (C) and (D) should have voting right or not raises a multitude of questions in the context of the present complex global socio-economic environment. Whether the immigrants who have received the citizenship of the host country should have voting right in their respective countries of origin is one of the socio-political discourses of the present time. Many have argued that globalization encourages the concept of dual or multiple citizenship, and a person’s citizenship should not be restricted to a single nation state only.

At present, about 500,000 Bangladeshis are living in the UK. Among them many (especially from the second and third generations) do not hold Bangladeshi passport and have not taken the privilege of dual citizenship. Then what will be the identifying criteria? Will all the Bangladeshi origin people in the UK be registered as voters? Even the Bangladesh High Commission in the UK has no formal procedure for recording information about the UK Bangladeshi community. Will they be active (those who can participate in the election as candidates) or passive (who can only vote but have no right to participate as candidate) voters? Before granting voting right to NRBs, these issues should be resolved properly.

The implementation of the scheme for granting voting right to the NRBs would be extremely costly, and prohibitive for a developing nation like Bangladesh. In conclusion, it may be said that for establishing true democracy in the country the EC has to go a long way. For the sake of strengthening democracy it should not be involved in any debatable effort which may have adverse impact on the NRBs. Rather, the government should address the real problems of NRBs, who are one of the major stakeholders of the country. Bangladeshi expats have been granted the right to vote from overseas after the country’s cabinet finally bowed to pressure from campaigning groups.

This decision paved the way for six million expats living and working in more than 100 foreign countries to participate in all elections in Bangladesh.’ The cabinet has approved the amendment to the electoral rolls law to allow the expatriates to register as voters at the places of their origin without considering whether or not they have movable or immovable assets there,’ he said.

Bangladeshis who hold dual citizenship in line with the Bangladesh Citizenship (Temporary Provisions) Order 1972 will also be registered as voters. Bangladeshis living abroad temporarily would be considered as voters of the constituency they come from. Bangladesh missions abroad collect voter application forms for dual citizenship holders and send them to the Election Commission after preparing a district wide primary list. Commission sends the application forms to the district registration officers for scrutiny.

Overseas Malaysians

In Malaysia, after months of uncertainty, the Election Commission has finally begun to deliver on its promise of voting rights for Malaysians overseas. Overseas Malaysians get postal voting rights in time for elections .Postal voting was previously restricted to military personnel, civil servants, and full-time students studying abroad and their spouses. But under new guidelines, Malaysians living overseas will have to chance to cast their vote in what some are calling the closest election in the nation's history. All Malaysians overseas who are registered voters and they have come back to Malaysia, and be in Malaysia, stay in Malaysia at least 30 days, from the date, the last five years will be eligible for postal voting. Malaysian living in Asia, in southern Thailand, Singapore, Brunei and Kalimantan are not eligible, they are excluded in this category, because they're close to the country, they can come back easily. People like, people in Singapore, for example, they just cross the causeway and come back, to where they are registered to vote, so are those in Brunei. So most Malaysians who are in Brunei, they are mostly from either from Sarawak or from the state of Sabah, and those who are in Kalimantan; they are mostly Malaysians from Sarawak.

The EC send the Malaysian High Commission ballot papers, plus the envelope, Government send these documents to the Malaysian High Commission abroad and Malaysian High Commission inform Malaysians the specific date where they can come to the High Commission and to collect themselves their ballot papers, plus the envelopes, These voters can right away cast their vote at the embassy, and then put in the envelopes, seal the envelope and then put in the special bag. They call it overseas postal voting bag. It is a very strong bag, heavy duty. Then they can, after casting their vote, they put themselves the envelopes into the bags or they can take the ballot papers to their place and then they can cast their vote anywhere, because it is their right, now, it is their ballot papers. And they can vote anywhere, even at home, but if they bring home the ballot papers, then they have to send back the ballot papers to the address return to the ballot papers that are the address of the returning officer of their respective constituencies and they have to send it back themselves.

But if they cast the vote at the High Commission and they place the envelope containing the ballot papers in the bag, then the High Commission on the next day send back the special bags to the diplomatic .It will take some time for that postal bag to travel from whatever country is, let's say Australia back to Malaysia to be secured back in KL. How far in advance will people need to vote? What will the cutoff point be before the election?

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Malaysian Missions Overseas ensures that these ballot papers from overseas must come back in Putrajaya headquarters of the EC as soon as possible, because the EC will have to transport these ballot papers from overseas to their respective returning officers around the country. So that is the work of the EC, So what is happening, what is going to happen is that immediately after we printed the ballot papers, the first group of papers is to be sent overseas and then, and between the printing of the ballot papers that is usually after the nomination day to the day of the ordinary polling day in Malaysia indicates at least two weeks. So there remain enough time to send the ballot papers to the various countries around the world.

Suppose the bags containing the ballot papers coming from Australia arrive in Kuala Lumpur one week after sending the ballot papers there, and then still have enough time. Because within that one week, the final one week, they have time to send these ballot papers to sort out and send these ballot papers, to the respective constituencies, where the returning officer count the ballot papers what are called after, after pm the closing time of the polling, of the ordinary polling in Malaysia.

All ballots counted after the election is closed in Malaysia. All ballot papers, no matter coming from overseas or ballot papers voting in Malaysia. The ballot papers will have to be counted will only be counted after 5pm Malaysian time on the polling day in Malaysia. Then the respective returning officer will count all the ballot papers in their respective constituencies.

New Zealand

New Zealanders living overseas, estimated to number as many as one million, is a serious political force in their homeland after formation of political party gets its way. The Expatriate Party of New Zealand, based in Perth, says it has gained the minimum 500 paid members required to register a party with New Zealand’s Electoral Commission. The Expatriate Party of New Zealand formed on behalf of the 200,000 voiceless New Zealanders living in Australia who are currently ineligible to vote in New Zealand, New Zealand law bans citizens who have been overseas for more than three years from voting in the country’s general elections.

ITALY

Every Italian citizen residing abroad should be registered with the local consulate in the A.I.R.E. (Italian Population Residing Abroad). Every Italian receives a packet from his/her consulate including:

• Electoral certificate (with name on giving the right to vote);

• Two (2) different colored ballots (Pink for the Chamber of Deputies and blue for the Senator); if anybody is under the age of 25, then he/she will receive only a ballot for the Camera;

• Two (2) envelopes (one small, blank, and white and the other larger and self-addressed and stamped to your consulate);

• The list of candidates for area; and

• An information sheet.

1. First of all Voter grabs and uses a blue or black pen.

2. To explain a little of what’s going on with the ballots: below the main candidates, all of the people on their “lists” are from the “estero”(Abroad) or outside Italy; those elected represent interests as an Italian citizen residing abroad. Depending on where you live, you will be able to vote for differing numbers of deputaties and senators, the number of blank lines tell the voter how many you are allowed to write in.

If the voter is in North or Central America then voter can vote for 2 deputati (deputies) and senatore.(Senator)

3. To vote, voter place an X over the logo of the party of his/her choice.

Absentee Voting

What are the requirements for being able to vote from abroad?

Only Italian citizens residing abroad and registered in AIRE can exercise the right to vote from abroad (absentee vote) as long as they are registered to vote and are:

• 18 years old for the election of the members of the Chamber of Deputies and in referendums;

• 25 years old for the election of the members of the Senate of the Republic.

In what sort of elections is the absentee vote valid?

• Election of members of the Chamber of Deputies and of the Senate of the Republic;

• Referendums regarding the repeal of laws and approval of constitutional legislation.

It is not possible to vote for the election of regional, provincial or municipal members of government.

Citizens cancelled as a result of not being reachable are permitted to re-register and exercise their right to vote if they apply to the consular office no less than 11 days prior to the day of voting. Italian citizens residing abroad vote by correspondence and their votes are counted in the Foreign Jurisdiction. The right to vote in Italy is, in any case, recognized in the national jurisdiction in which voters are registered in the case that you choose to vote in Italy. Voter must come personally to the consular office no less than 10 days prior to the indicated voting date and, as long as voter registered in AIRE and registered to vote, declare that voter want to opt for voting in Italy.

Expats could win back general election voting rights

Britons living abroad who have lost their right to vote may soon win it back after the European Court of Human Rights asked the government to explain why they can't take part in general elections. Under the current voting legislation, Britons who live overseas automatically lose their right to take part in general elections if they have lived abroad for more than 15 years.

It came just a few weeks after Prime Minister David Cameron revealed that 28,000 prisoners are to be given the right to vote. The government revealed the change last year in response to a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights six years ago that a 140 year old blanket voting ban on convicted prisoners in British jails was unlawful. It said that ruling was discriminatory and the documents relating to overseas voting rights also suggest that Strasbourg views the current rules for them in a similar way.

French expats

For the first time, French citizens who live abroad are able to vote for an MP to represent them in the Assemble Nationale.

From this year, the French abroad are able to directly elect someone who, so the theory goes, will fight their corner in Paris and address the particular concerns they have as citizens in a foreign land."It's not because you leave the country that you don't participate anymore to the economy.

Mechanism to vote for Germans living abroad

Germans living abroad are permitted to vote in the election provided the following conditions are fulfilled:

• Germans living outside the Federal Republic of Germany who are not registered there are entitled to vote in the election provided that

o They are German citizens pursuant to Article 116 of the Basic Constitutional Law,

o They have completed their 18th year of age until the day of the election,

o They have lived in the Federal Republic of Germany for a minimum of three months in a row after 23 May 1949, and

o They are not denied the right to vote.

The exclusion from the right to vote of German citizens residing outside the Member States of the Council of Europe who had departed from the Federal Republic of Germany more than 25 years ago, which was still in force for the last Bundestag and European elections, was deleted by the Act amending the elections and members of parliament law of 17 March 2008 (Federal Law Gazette I, p. 394).

• German citizens living abroad and complying with the requirements specified above need to have their names entered in due time in the register of voters of their last home municipality in Germany. To this end, a written application has to be submitted on a special form, while at the same time, the Germans concerned have to affirm in lieu of an oath that they are entitled to vote.

• The application forms for entry in a register of voters for the Bundestag election may be obtained

 From all embassies and consulates of the Federal Republic of Germany,

 From the Federal Returning Officer and

 From all constituency returning officers in Germany.

Together with their own application forms, applicants may obtain forms for family members, friends or colleagues. Firms and associations may request delivery of the required number of application forms for their staff abroad. German citizens living abroad have to submit their own application for entry in the register of voters together with an affirmation in lieu of an oath that they are entitled to vote. These documents have to be sent to the municipality where they were last registered before leaving the Federal Republic of Germany. The applications on the above forms must have been received by the competent authority in Germany on the 21st day before the day of the election at the latest, i.e. on 6 September 2009 at the latest. Therefore, the completed application forms should be returned as soon as possible.

• After German citizens living abroad and eligible to vote have been entered in the register of voters, they will be provided with the documents required for postal vote (polling card, ballot paper, voting envelope, ballot-letter envelope, and sheet of notes for postal voters) without further request about one month before the day of the election.

The voters will have to return in the sealed official ballot-letter envelope

o The polling card and the affirmation in lieu of an oath and

o The ballot paper in the sealed official voting envelope. The documents will have to be returned to the authority indicated on the ballot-letter envelope in good time for this authority to receive them at the latest by 6 p.m. on the day of the election.

• Germans living abroad and wishing to vote in the 2009 Election to the German Bundestag should act in due time because of the specific character of the procedure and the possibly long forwarding times for mail. In the foreign press, the German missions abroad will provide information on the opportunity for Germans living abroad to vote in the impending elections. Some German missions also offer a service for delivery of ballot-letter envelopes for postal vote. Please refer to your local German mission for further information. Additionally, relatives and friends living in the Federal Republic of Germany and firms in Germany who employ staff abroad should draw the attention of their relatives, friends and staff abroad to the opportunity and formalities of voting in the election to the 17th German Bundestag.

If a German returns to Germany, the usual period of three months does not apply. According to this rule, Germans are only eligible to vote if they have had a domicile or have otherwise been permanently resident in the Federal Republic of Germany for at least three months. In addition, the following rules apply:

• If anybody return to Germany and will be registered with a domicile before the 35th day before the election He or She must not file the application for Germans living abroad as they will be entered in the register of voters of the municipality register with ex officio.

PAKISTAN

The Election Commission of Pakistan has decided to grant voting rights to overseas Pakistanis. The decision will allow 3.7 million Pakistanis living abroad to vote. The debate on whether overseas Pakistanis should be allowed to participate in Pakistan’s elections gained steam after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan moved the Supreme Court, seeking that those living abroad should be permitted to vote. In a meeting of the commission, which was chaired by ECP Secretary Ishtiak Ahmed Khan, participants decided that names of overseas Pakistanis will be registered in the electoral rolls,. Participants also discussed the mechanism for voting, including the option of postal balloting and setting up polling booths at Pakistani embassies. A voting mechanism has yet to be decided.

Voting Processes for Overseas Canadians

As set out in the Special Voting Rules of the Canada Elections Act, Elections Canada maintains the International Register of Electors, a database containing the names of Canadian electors temporarily living outside Canada. To be included in the International Register of Electors, an elector whose home is abroad must be qualified to vote:

• Have resided in Canada at any time before applying

• Intend to return to Canada to reside

• Have resided abroad for less than five consecutive years, or qualify for an exemption as described below

The five-year limit does not apply to electors who meet one of these criteria:

* They are an employee of a federal or provincial public administration posted outside Canada – or they live with someone

* They are an employee, posted outside Canada, of an international organization of which Canada is a member and to which Canada contributes – or they live with someone who is. –or–

o They live with a member of the Canadian Forces posted outside Canada, or with a civilian employed outside Canada as a teacher or as administrative support staff in a Canadian Forces school.

Qualified electors may apply at any time to be added to the International Register. They must submit a completed Application for Registration and Special Ballot for Canadian Citizens Residing outside Canada and provide copies of supporting documents that prove their identity. The special ballot application form is available online, at any Canadian embassy, high commission or consulate or by calling Elections Canada. Completed applications and copies of supporting documents should be mailed or faxed to Elections Canada in Ottawa.

The application form explains how electors can determine their address for voting purposes – this is the address in Canada that determines the electoral district for which the elector's vote will be counted. Once an elector's name is added to the International Register of Electors, their address for voting purposes cannot be changed until they acquire a new home in Canada. Once an elector's application has been approved, we add their name to the International Register of Electors. Outside election periods, we send the elector a letter informing them that their name has been added. During elections, we simply send the elector a special ballot voting kit.

Voting by special ballot

When an election or referendum is called, Canadian Election Commission send special ballot voting kits to all eligible electors in the International Register of Electors, to the mailing address they have on file for them. This kit includes:

• A blank ballot on which the elector writes the name of the candidate of their choice (in an election period, candidates' names are also available on the website, by calling Elections Canada, or through Canadian diplomatic and consular offices)

• An unmarked inner envelope

• An outer envelope identifying the elector and their electoral district

• A declaration that the elector must sign and date, stating that their name is as shown on the envelope, and that they have not already voted and will not attempt to vote again in the current election

• A return envelope

• An instruction flyer

Application and voting deadlines during an election

If an election has been called, applications for the International Register must reach Elections Canada in Ottawa by 6:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) on the Tuesday before election day in order to qualify the elector to vote by special ballot in that election. Electors should apply as early as possible to allow time for the special ballot voting kit to be sent to them and for the marked ballot to reach Elections Canada by the Election Day deadline. Marked ballots must reach Elections Canada in Ottawa by 6:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) on Election Day, or they will not be counted. They can be sent by postal mail or courier. They may also be submitted care of Canadian diplomatic and consular offices, but neither these offices nor Elections Canada can guarantee delivery times. (During by-elections, diplomatic and consular offices are not required by law to accept marked ballots.)

The Facts on American residing abroad

Americans living abroad number are in the millions. With elections being decided by microscopic margins, the importance of overseas votes has never been more obvious. In 2008, Al Franken became U.S. Senator from Minnesota by a margin of 312 votes. In 2004, Democrat Christine Gregorian became Governor of Washington by just 133 votes. And who could forget the 537 votes in Florida that sent George Bush to the White House in 2000? This is clearly indicating the importance of American Exparties votes

The law

• All Americans abroad retain the right to vote in US Federal elections no matter where they live in the world, how long they have been overseas, or when and where they last voted.*

• This right was granted by Congress in 1975.,t is guaranteed and governed by the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act of 1986 (UOCAVA), which was recently amended in 2009 by the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act.

* The only possible exception is children of US citizens who have never resided in the United States. In most cases, they may vote in the state where their American parent(s) last resided. Check with your local election official. The only state which explicitly prohibits these citizens from voting is Virginia.

The process

• Americans abroad must register and request a ballot from their local voting authority, wherever they last resided in the United States.

• The request must be received and accepted. The voting authority transmits a ballot overseas (by post or electronically). The voter must complete and mail it back

• The form used to register and request a ballot is known as the Federal Post Card Application, or FPCA. Each state provides its own explicit instructions on how this form needs to be completed in order to be valid.

• In the event a voter fails to receive a duly requested ballot, a backup is available: the Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot, or FWAB.

• Recent legislation (MOVE Act) requires overseas voters to file a new ballot request each year.

A registered overseas absentee voter may vote for the following positions:

President (only in presidential election years)

• Vice president (only in presidential election years)

• Senators

• Party-list representatives (The party is the one being voted)

Voting process for Philippine overseas citizens

Retention and Reacquisition act (R.A. 9189) states that all Filipino citizens abroad who are not disqualified by law and at least 18 years old by the time of elections are entitled to vote. The eligible individuals are required to file their applications personally at the Philippine embassy or consulate nearest their region. They are also required to be holders of a valid Philippine passport with an accomplished overseas absentee voting (OAV) registration form from the commission on elections. For seafarers a photocopy of their seaman’s book is required. Lastly if the individual availed the citizen retention and reacquisition act (R.A. 9225), they would need to submit their order of approval application for the said act.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spent a total of 112.71 million pesos for the overseas absentee voters in 2004. The Philippine government put-up 89 registration centers across the globe along with 44 posts in 154 areas dedicated for field registration. Data capturing machines were also based at DFA embassies and consulates. The registration period for 7 months was trimmed to 2 months.

The turnout yielded 364,187 registrants where 233,092 went on to vote. The 64 percent turnout rate was lower than what was expected thus prompted the Philippine senate to do a joint congressional . The factors that affected the low turnout were attributed to the following:

• Registration period being shortened by 5 months

• The voting requirements made it difficult for overseas Filipino workers (OFW) and seafarers who were geographically dispersed in more than 180 countries

• The voting facilities were only limited to 87 polls

• Limited days off at work prevented many from registering

• Cost considerations