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Only 2 NRI applications for voting so far: poll panel

By IANS,

Panaji : The Election Commission of India (ECI) has received only two applications from NRIs after they were allowed to register as voters in November 2010, a top official said Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters here after taking stock of electoral preparations in the state, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) S.Y. Quraishi said that the facility of online registration for voting rights for NRIs had been opened up by the poll panel recently.

“We have received only two applications so far. If they (NRIs) want to apply for voting rights, they can enrol for that on our website,” he said.

An amendment to the Representation of People Act has allowed NRIs, who have not accepted the citizenship of another country, voting rights in India, for which they have to enrol with the ECI.

There are approximately 11 million NRIs spread across the globe, according to central government figures.