In a long-awaited move to fulfil a constitutional right denied to millions of citizens overseas,the government is finally taking steps to allow Nepalis living abroad to vote in national elections.
To this end, the government is preparing to issue an ordinance. The Ministry of Home Affairs has already drafted amendments to several election laws to create a legal basis for overseas voting. The draft has been sent to the Election Commission (EC) for review.
For now, the government plans to allow overseas voting only under the proportional representation (PR) system for the House of Representatives.
In 2018, the Supreme Court had directed the government to guarantee voting rights for Nepalis living abroad. In its verdict, a bench of Justices Sapana Pradhan Malla and Purushottam Bhandari instructed the state to make the necessary legal, logistical, and technological arrangements to enable voting from abroad.
That order, however, remained unimplemented. Despite multiple elections since, millions of Nepalis working, studying or residing overseas have been unable to exercise their democratic right. According to the 2021 census, nearly 2.2m Nepalis live abroad.
Election officials say they are discussing all possible models of election, including early voting, polling at diplomatic missions and online voting.
Earlier, the Election Commission had proposed piloting voter registration in the UAE, Qatar and Malaysia, where the largest numbers of Nepali migrant workers live and work.
With the House of Representatives dissolved, the government plans to move ahead through an ordinance. Once the Election Commission submits its feedback, the Ministry of Home Affairs will forward the draft to the Council of Ministers for approval.
The proposed amendment stipulates that only Nepalis registered in the official voter list will be eligible to vote. The Election Commission will gather and confirm this data with the help of Nepali embassies and other agencies abroad.
To guide implementation, the government has asked the Policy Research Institute, a state-affiliated think tank, to conduct a study on the logistics of overseas voting, including eligible countries, management systems and vote counting mechanisms.
The home ministry also aims to address concerns that people with dual citizenship might misuse the process. The revised draft clarifies that only verified Nepali citizens listed in the Election Commission’s official voter roll will be allowed to vote from abroad.
The right to vote is guaranteed under Article 84(5) of the Constitution, which ensures every Nepali citizen aged 18 and above the right to vote in accordance with federal law. Yet without the necessary legislation, that right has remained on paper for millions working overseas.The government’s latest move has rekindled cautious optimism among migrant workers.
If all goes as planned, the next elections could mark a historic moment when Nepalis abroad finally cast their votes for home.
