Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of the union territory of Jammu-Kashmir, Hridesh Kumar Singh announced on August 17, 2022, that non-locals will now be allowed to vote in the Assembly elections in the Union Territory of J&K. As per the statement given by the CEO:
Non-Locals residing in Jammu Kashmir for work purposes, labour or studying in Jammu Kashmir can also vote. They can also register as voters online.
The CEO further said:
It does not matter how long one has been staying in Jammu Kashmir. The ERO will take the final call on whether the non-local has been residing in Jammu Kashmir or not. Those living here on rent can also vote.
It was further informed that 25 lakh new voters will likely be added to the voter’s list of J&K. The CEO said:
After the abrogation of Article 370, many people who were not enlisted as voters in the erstwhile J&K state are now eligible to vote and can be added to the voter list. As per the provisions of the Representation of the Peoples Act, a person living ordinarily in the UT can avail of the opportunity to get enlisted as a voter in J&K. He has to get enlisted as a voter and the ERO will take a final call on adding him/her in the voter list.
It was informed by the CEO that for acquiring voting rights in J&K Assembly elections, there is no need for the Permanent Resident Certificate or domicile certificate. Along with that, the residents of J&K living outside the union territory can register themselves as service voters.
Meanwhile, Kashmir-based political parties like the National Conference (NC), and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have opposed the move to grant voting rights to non-locals in the J&K assembly.
The vice-president of the NC said:
Is the BJP so insecure about support from genuine voters of J&K that it needs to import temporary voters to win seats? None of these things will help the BJP when the people of J&K are given a chance to exercise their franchise.
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti tweeted:
GOI’s decision to defer polls in J&K preceded by egregious gerrymandering tilting the balance in BJPs favour & now allowing non-locals to vote is obviously to influence election results. The real aim is to continue ruling J&K with an iron fist to disempower locals.
