Bangladeshi expatriates voting rights: Legality, legislation and logistics
There is no conceivable reason why the government should not now take the remaining final steps and bring the whole matter to its logical and democratic conclusion
Najrul Khasru
Every eligible citizen, irrespective of whether he is resident in Bangladesh or outside Bangladesh, should be entitled to vote for electing members of Parliament and other representative bodies in accordance with law. This was stated by three retired Justices of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh in their capacity as members of the Law Commission in February 2001, in response to a question from the Prime Ministers Office asking whether it would be proper to confer the right to vote on Bangladeshi citizens residing abroad. The Prime Minister at the time was Sheikh Hasina.
There was nothing unpredictable about the Law Commissions response. The right to vote is a fundamental right of citizenship and in a globalised world, it stands to reason that such a right remains fully intact regardless of where a citizen chooses to live. The truism of this is well recognised throughout the world as, according to a survey by the International Institute for Democratic and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), a Stockholm-based organisation, there are now 126 countries and independent territories which offer voting rights to their citizens abroad.
However, in Bangladesh the Law Commissions advice was put on the back burner for a number of years, possibly because there was a change of government later in that year and the issue was no longer seen as a priority by the new incumbent. During the Caretaker government in 2007/8 the three members of the Election Commission (EC) and the Chief Caretaker Fakhruddin Ahmed made a lot of noises both at home and abroad about implementing expatriate Bangladeshis voting rights. But they soon realised their limitations and abruptly abandoned the whole plan.
The next development occurred when the government of Sheikh Hasina returned to power and introduced the Voters Roll Bill in Parliament. This Bill became law in 2009. It includes a provision which provides that Bangladeshis living abroad would be deemed to be residents of the constituencies where they lived before emigrating or where they have their ancestral homes. The Constitution of Bangladesh provides the right to be registered as voters to those who, among others, are deemed to be residents of a Constituency in Bangladesh. By providing the definition of the term deemed to be residents the way it does, the Voters Roll Act 2009 has removed any Constitutional difficulties in providing voting rights to Bangladeshis abroad. This certainly was a major step by the government of Sheikh Hasina in enfranchising the countrys nine million expatriates.
However the momentum petered out thereafter. Then in 2013 Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, while answering a question in Parliament stated: Necessary amendments to the Representation of people order 1972 will be made to enable expatriate Bangladeshis to vote from abroad. While the Prime Minister was absolutely right in identifying the second of the two pieces of legislation that needed amending, the first being accomplished in 2009, inexplicably, no further steps were taken to achieve that.
As Prime Minister has clearly demonstrated her commitment and intent in implementing expatriates voting rights, there is no conceivable reason why her government should not now take the remaining final steps and bring the whole matter to its logical and democratic conclusion.
The first step that needs to be taken, as the Prime Minister herself stated in 2013, is to amend the 1972 legislation to spell out the ECs powers and responsibilities in relation to expatriate voters. The Electoral Roll Act of 2009 and the amended 1972 order combined then would form the legal basis for the implementation of the overseas Bangladeshi citizens voting rights. Rules and guidelines would also need to be drafted to address the procedures and logistics involved in carrying out the registering and the process of voting.
The logistics would need thoroughly analysed consideration, drawing in on the experiences of other countries who have successfully implemented overseas voting programmes. With the exceptions of a few western democracies the norm is to enable expatriates participation in national elections only. This stands to reason because most expatriates interests and stakes in local elections would be minimal, and those who consider otherwise are at liberty to return home and participate. Indeed the cost involved would far outweigh the limited democratic value in enabling an expatriate to vote in a local election. In the case of Bangladesh no one is seriously suggesting that the expatriates voting rights should encompass the local levels too.
The estimated nine million Bangladeshi expatriates may be broadly categorised into two groups. The first group consists of those who have migrated to the Middle East and other parts of Asia, generally leaving there families behind, and for work purposes only. This group numbers approximately seven million Bangladeshis and almost all of them being of voting age. Their initial voting registrations can take place while they are in Bangladesh. The second group of two million or so Bangladeshis are those who have settled in the Western countries and their descendants. It would be necessary to adopt a mechanism for them to be registered for vote through Bangladeshi Missions abroad. This practice has been successfully adopted by many countries including Philippines, Poland, Thailand and Ukraine.
For a successful overseas voting programme, choosing of the right method of voting is of primary importance. The most common methods used by various countries are: in-person voting in diplomatic missions or other designated places, postal voting, voting by proxy and electronic voting. While electronic voting is still at an embryonic stage world over (with the exception of Switzerland), proxy voting has been identified to be susceptible to fraudulent usage. For Bangladesh a combination of in-person voting in diplomatic missions and postal voting (which refers to casting of votes by mail either to the countrys EC or to the local Mission) would appear to be the way forward. Indeed, these two methods have been perfected over the years by many countries including Indonesia, Lithuania, New Zealand, Thailand and Portugal.
The expenses of putting in place the whole overseas voting structure and the ongoing costs must be carefully worked out. A study by the Election Commission of Pakistan in 2009 suggests that in that country at that time, a national election cost was less than $2 per vote but the out of country voting cost per voter was estimated as would be between $20 and $30.
A recent survey by International IDEA shows that the costs of external voting programmes of different countries vary considerably. In its last national election Iraq spent $92 million on its external voting programme which amounted to $350 per registered overseas voter. One of the least expensive such programme that was carried out in the recent years was by Indonesia, costing a total of $6 million, which translated into $13 per registered overseas Indonesian voter. While a government must ensure the most cost effective usage of its resources when embarking on its external voting programme, it is eminently justifiable for a government to expect that a substantial part of the expenses incurred in such a programme is borne by expatriate voters.
The government of Bangladesh should consider appointing a specialist committee to take all necessary steps to ensure the implementation of its overseas voting programme before the end of its current term of office. The implementation of expatriates voting rights might not be viewed as the biggest achievement in the annals of democracy in Bangladesh, but it will certainly be looked upon by posterity as more than a footnote.
The writer, a British Bangladeshi, is a Barrister and a part-time
Tribunal Judge in England
