Right to vote
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A news item that caught my interest this week was about the Indonesian parliamentary and presidential elections which were, interestingly, held on the same day on April 17 and maybe an exercise that Sri Lanka should consider to cut costs and time.The report in a local newspaper said 117 Indonesian citizens based in Sri Lanka had cast their ballot at an Overseas Voting Booth located at the Indonesian Embassy in Colombo on April 13, while another 718 Indonesians (also in Sri Lanka) were eligible to cast postal votes. The embassy was quoted as saying that it ensured that the vote “took place in the embassy premises in an honest, fair, independent and confidential manner”.
This drew my attention because of a conversation, a few weeks ago among Kussi Amma Sera and her ‘amba yaluwo (mango friends)’ Serapina and Mabel Rasthiyadu discussing Sri Lankan migrant workers and the right to vote.
“Apey pita rata lamai-ta chandaye paavichchi-karanna avasthavak dunnoth, eka vishaala vasiyak (It would be a great benefit to our migrant workers if they are allowed to vote at a Sri Lankan election while being overseas),” Kussi Amma Sera had said. Both her friends had nodded their heads in agreement.
Their discussion came in the context of increasing media attention, in recent times, of an ‘onna-menna (coming-very-soon)’ election; whether it is provincial, presidential or parliamentary, remains a secret within the country’s ruling political hierarchy.
Indonesia and the Philippines are two countries in Asia with sizable numbers of their nationals working overseas particularly in West Asia which allow voting rights for these workers in the embassies and/or by post.
Sri Lanka has been treading this path for more than 15 years without any success, with migrant workers’ associations and interest groups urging the authorities to develop a scheme where Sri Lankans overseas can exercise their franchise. At one point, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka approved such a proposal but the follow-through by state agencies (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Foreign Employment) has been slow and ineffective.
The need to revive this debate becomes increasingly urgent these days as speculation of an election between now and November 2019 is gathering momentum. And, in this context, the right to vote for more than 1.5 million Sri Lankans overseas (largely in West Asia), would place enormous power in their hands to decide on their representatives in the legislature, as president or provincial councils – and in that way, the fate of the nation.
While it may take several months to instal such a scheme and may not be possible before the next poll, the authorities could run a pilot project to test the waters during an election.
In the mood to discuss this with one of my mango friends, I call ‘Koththamalli’ Fernando, the Kokatath Thailaya (oil for any ailment) expert who seems to have a remedy for any issue.
“Machan, I am writing about providing voting rights for overseas Sri Lankan migrant workers since elections may be announced any time now. Do you think that this will ever see the light of day after being suggested many years ago?” I asked.
“Well..…. this has been in the works for many years but I don’t see this happening in time for the provincial, presidential or parliamentary elections because our leaders are preoccupied with feathering their own nests and not concerned about the rights of others,” he responded.
“But … why can’t they even run a pilot project may be in one country to test its efficiency and effectiveness,” I ventured a guess.
“That might be a good idea, but again it rests in the hands of our leaders or those who govern this country,” he said, adding: “Maybe they should try out the electronic voting system which prevails in some countries.”
“That’s a great idea,” I said, winding up the conversation with a “thanks”.
Sri Lanka’s giant neighbour, India, in fact resorts to electronic voting – as evidenced at the ongoing parliamentary polls – using Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) instead of ballot papers.
So far, 25 countries have used or done pilot projects to elect governments using EVMs and in Asia this includes the Philippines. Electronic voting reduces ballot tampering, election fraud and other irregularities while reducing costs and also the number of officials for counting purposes.
A Parliamentary Committee was appointed in April 2016 to formulate ways to allow the overseas Sri Lankans to vote but that committee is yet to submit its report which is very unlikely in the not-too-distant-future.
Another source of worry to migrant worker interest groups is that the power of migrant workers on the political apparatus and government is waning due to reduced remittances from them. While they are still a force to be reckoned with bringing in the highest amount of foreign exchange to the country, knocking on the doors to equal or higher prominence is tourism and, in later years, the IT industry.
For the record, workers’ remittances in December 2018 declined by 13 per cent, year-on-year, to US$584 million. However on an annual basis, the decline was just 2.1 per cent to $7 billion in 2018 from $7.2 billion in 2017.
Remittances in January 2019 totalled $545 million, a notable reduction of 25.2 per cent from $729 million in the same month in 2018.
Of the average 200,000 Sri Lankans who go abroad annually for work, the percentage of women (as domestic workers) has dropped and around 34 per cent in 2017 compared to over 50 per cent many years ago.
As stated earlier, it is not too late to launch a pilot project in one country – maybe using EVMs – to test the waters before providing these rights to all Sri Lankan workers abroad.
Voting rights and a means of voting will help migrant workers to get more attention from their representatives in parliament, provincial councils and the presidency, instead of only being a source of attention as per their remittances and their impact on the economy. A 1.5 million vote base is a powerful tool that can make or break governments and it’s a fundamental right for these migrant workers to be able to exercise their franchise.
Missing my steaming, hot cup of morning tea with Kussi Amma Sera away in the village for the extended Avuduru vacation? Well, yes……but undoubtedly voting rights for migrant workers is far more important.