Strong case from migrant worker group for voting rights for expatriates

Sri Lanka’s Migrant Services Centre (MSC), in a bid to promote its long-standing campaign for voting rights for Sri Lanka expatriates, held a workshop in Colombo this week to further push this proposal.

The keynote address was delivered by Henry S Rojas, a widely recognized Legal Counsel of the Centre for Migrant Advocacy in the Philippines, who discussed the Philippine’s experience during his presentation.

Panelists at the workshop were Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, Dr A.C. Visvalingam, and Kingsley Rodrigo, while Godfrey Gunatileke, Chief Executive of the Marga Institute, was Chairman of the Panel.

There are more than 1.2 million Sri Lankan workers overseas most of whom are housemaids.

MSC Director David Soysa said no expatriate so far has been able to exercise the right to vote while being abroad. “In an all inclusive democracy denial of voting facilities is a denial of the fundamental right of any citizen,” he said.

Expatriate Sri Lankans constitute 12% of the registered voters of this country and 10% of the national work force. In 2005 they contributed to 17% of national savings and more than 20% of foreign exchange earnings, the MSC said.

Soysa said based on MSC representations, the Human Rights Commission after inquiry recommended to the Labour Minister to make suitable arrangements to ensure Sri Lankan expatriates can vote in countries where they are employed.

However there has been lack of progress on this recommendation and now the MSC is engaged in collecting signatures of migrant families to represent matters to the President of Sri Lanka on International Migrants Day, which falls on December 18.
“ Time is fast catching up on us. Migrants want their rights, including political rights.

We have called upon all migrant workers, prospective migrant workers and members of migrant worker’s families to band themselves together irrespective of political considerations and call for a scheme of absentee voting at national elections in Sri Lanka, as we believe that political representation of migrant workers at a high political level is the best guarantee to restore the rights and dignity of migrant workers,” he said.

The United States, United Kingdom, Jordan, Spain, Russia, Portugal, Poland, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, the Philippines, Lithuania, Indonesia, Thailand, Moldova and Ukraine are some countries that have recently enacted laws to enable citizens overseas to exercise their vote at national elections.