Financial Times

Voting rights of migrant workers
The ease with which Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse and Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe are offering subsidies, handouts and price controls in a bid to become the next president appears as if they own the country and to hell with its meagre financial resources and who pays for it.

As one economist said last week, economic and political realities are thrown out of the window during electioneering with either party not having a clue as to raising the money for all what they have promised. “Fairy tales,” said another. “We must be satisfied by the fact that politicians don’t keep to their promises; otherwise this country is doomed,” he said. How does one achieve high growth rates like 8 percent or 10 percent on subsidy-filled manifestos and high government spending? Our debt is rising with the bulk of the government’s annual revenue going for interest payments, salaries and subsidies and little left for development. Are we returning to the “rice from the moon” era – a famous slogan during an election campaign many years back – not fulfilled obviously? The stakes are so high for the two candidates that some analysts liken it to an auction, the higher the bidding, the better chance of winning – or so the candidates believe.

The presidential candidates are also trying to garner the support of more than one million migrant workers with an “anything-is-possible” shopping list.
One is offering a new Bureau to prevent exploitation; caring for children left behind; transport home on return; advice on good financial management; resettlement within the economy etc. Another promises jobs in non-traditional destinations like Korea, Malaysia, Italy; an increase in the so called MoU; new jobs in nursing; duty free allowances; special loan schemes to cover initial migrant expenses, training of youth and women for European jobs.
But they have failed to address the most crucial issue of voting rights of migrant workers while working overseas. “We have been campaigning for this for the past few years but no one takes these migrants seriously except during election time and speeches in parliament about how much foreign exchange they bring in,” laments Migrant Workers Centrte Director David Soysa. The Human Rights Commission also proposed these voting rights and asked the Ministries of Labour of Foreign Affairs to work out a strategy to no avail.

Voting for migrant workers is not only a right – considering their valuable contribution to the economy – but also a protective measure against impersonation, a common feature at local polls. Some years back, a group of people campaigning for a local candidate walked into a house in suburban Colombo and wanted to know how many residents were overseas. ‘Why do you want to know? To use their votes?” asked the angry chief householder.
The group beat a hasty retreat realising their folly. Large scale impersonation of the votes of migrant workers has happened over the years.

If the candidates are offering a shopping list to migrant workers and their families to woo their support, then they surely must be considered an important force. Why then has the right to vote (overseas) being ignored by all candidates? It’s too late to implement such a scheme before the current poll but not too late for candidates to assure they would work towards such a policy and deliver before the next poll.

It isn’t hard to organise a voting system through our embassies abroad. The Philippines does it for all its migrant workers through its overseas missions. We can do it too if only the candidates – particularly Rajapakse and Wickremesinghe – are ready to make a commitment.

This is much more important than the promise to give duty-free permits to migrant workers on their return. How many migrants can afford maintaining a car, let alone buy one? That system would also be like the current American auction, high bidding campaigns, where permits would be sold to the highest bidder with the bourgeoisie, always waiting for an opportunity, being the ultimate beneficiary.

Politicians need to show that they care for migrant workers particularly domestic workers, because of the contribution they make to the national economy notwithstanding the suffering they undergo by leaving their loved ones behind and often hard work and harassment at the other end. It’s not too late for the two main candidates to make that promise – and keep it if elected.

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