No online voting for 2019 elections for Indian expats in UAE: clarifies Consul-General of India

There will be no online voting for the 2019 polls for Indian expatriates in the UAE, the Consul-General of India in Dubai has said, as he dismissed rumours that it was possible for non-resident Indians to vote online for the ongoing general elections.

Indian expats have complained that social media platforms have been rife with forwards of misleading posts that suggest non-resident Indians (NRIs) can vote online for 2019 polls.

There will be no e-voting for the 2019 elections, the Consul-General of India in Dubai, Vipul was quoted as saying in a media on Sunday.

"One can register on the National Voters' Service Portal (NVSP), and ensure that their name has appeared in the electoral roll," he told Khaleej Times, adding that the only way people can vote is by personally visiting the polling booth in their respective constituency.

According to many Indian expats, the posts have been making the rounds since January.

While some of them believed the posts, others cross checked on the website of the Election Commission of India and social media handles to find that the forwards 'fake news'.

"I've been receiving this message from several WhatsApp groups in the past week. I first saw the messages in January, and now the volume has increased," Lincy Monse, a government employee who has been working in the UAE for 15 years, was quoted as saying in the report.

"My husband has already left for India and will be casting his vote on April 21 in Kottayam. When I saw the post, I was excited and thought he could vote here. Later, I realised the news is fake," she said, adding a lot of NRIs want to exercise their right to vote, so I assumed it has become a reality.

Nihad Ahmed, a marketing professional from Kashmir, said: "I got a forward a few months ago. It was a misleading article in an English daily that caused me to believe that online voting is a reality.