Description

The Act is particularly relevant for the Urdu-Speaking Community (previously considered as de facto stateless) and also for the cases where refugees are accused of falsely enrolled in the voter list. To opt for a computer-run data-base of voters to be updated on yearly basis and to insert photographs of respective voters in the voter rolls and voter identification cards were felt necessary, hence to operationalise the requirements, an ordinance (Electoral Rolls Ordinance No.18 of 2007) was issued by the government. The newly constituted Election Commission set about the task of a computer-based voter list. This Ordinance was repealed with some amendments. Consequently, an Act was passed in the Parliament titled Electoral Rolls Act, 2009 (Act 6 of 2009). The Act saw the light of the day on 24 January, 2009. The Act has been given retrospective effect as stated in section 1(2)-'it shall be deemed to have come into force on 9th day of August 2007' although the came in 2009. The Act provides for a more technology-friendly voter list conducive to maintenance of computer-based data for registration of voters and subsequent updating of the said list. The practice followed earlier to the law was to update or amend voter list during the period ranging between the declaration of the date of election and the date of holding the said election to the Parliament and to other elected local bodies. The law departs from this practice, and allows for the amendment of the list at any time in accordance with procedures specified by the law. An important provision relates to updating the computerised data-base every year from 2 to 31 January. This process of updating the list as specified by the law basically involves inclusion of new eligible voters and deletion of names of voters who had died or had become ineligible. The criteria for eligibility and ineligibility are specified in the law. It also involves correction of change of voter's ordinary place of residence. Finally, it is laid down in the law that if the list is not updated in accordance with the specified procedures, it shall not deemed to be invalid or its continuity shall remain unaffected. The Act further empowers the Election Commission in specified areas. These include the authority of the Commission to call for the details of information from any organisation, the authority to frame rules under the Act, ousting the jurisdiction of any court of law to call in question any action relating to the preparation of the voter list, penalty for providing false information including obstruction to the preparation of the list and negligence of duties in the process of preparation of the voter list