Voter roll provsion challenged in SC
KATHMANDU, JUL 11 - The Election Commission's decision to register voters on the basis of documents other than the citizenship certificate was challenged in the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
Advocate Purna Chandra Poudel argued that such a provision in the Voter Roll Act-2007 contradicts the constitution that says only those holding citizenship certificates are eligible to exercise their franchise.
Section 11 (1) of the Act allows voter registration on the basis of land revenue certificate or any identification paper issued by a public or an educational institutional for anyone who does not hold a citizenship certificate.
Section 11 (2) of the Act further says that a person can produce a recommendation from either the ward office or the VDC office if s/he does not have any of the aforementioned documents.
The petitioner has cited an order of the Supreme Court that said citizenship certificate is a must for voting in the elections. In November 2011, a single bench of Justice Prakash Wasti had ordered the Election Commission and the government to make citizenship cards the basis for voter roll updates.
The defendants in Poudel's petition include the Prime Minister's Office and the Election Commission.
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