Digital Rights Nepal believes that the Commission's decision is contrary to the spirit of the Constitution of Nepal and the Personal Privacy Act, 2075 BS.
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Digital rights activists have strongly objected to the Election Commission's provision of providing copies of voter lists to political parties and candidates for a fee of up to Rs 10,000. Digital Rights Nepal has issued a statement protesting, saying that this will seriously harm the right to personal privacy.
The Commission has made provision for providing digital copies of voter lists to political parties and independent candidates through the first amendment to the ‘House of Representatives Member Election Guidelines, 2082’ in Chapter 4, Sections 10 and 12.
Accordingly, political parties registered for election purposes can obtain voter details across the country for Rs 10,000, pay Rs 5,000 for details of a province and Rs 3,000 for the list of names of any district or constituency.
The guidelines state that the Commission will provide voters’ details except their date of birth, citizenship number and mobile number electronically on a hard drive or pen drive.
According to rights activists, details such as voter number, gender identity, age and parents’ names included in the voter list are extremely sensitive and there is a risk that if these details are combined, a detailed personal profile of the person can be prepared and easily identified.
Digital Rights Nepal believes that such a provision is against the spirit of the Constitution of Nepal and the Personal Privacy Act, 2075. ‘Section 2(c) of the Act defines the details of a voter identity card or an identity card issued by a public body as personal information,’ the statement said, ‘Section 3(3) includes details related to gender identity as personal physical details and ensures their confidentiality. Sub-section (4) of the same section prohibits the publication or dissemination of such details in a way that affects the private life of the person.’
Similarly, the statement reminded that Section 11(2)(c) of the Act includes voter identity cards as personal document details and Sub-section (4) of the same section provides that such personal document details held by a public body should not be made public or made public except in specified circumstances.
Digital Rights Nepal has stated that the election guidelines did not take the express consent of the voters before making such details public and that this is not for the purpose of availing any public service or in the context of a criminal investigation, so it is considered a violation of the Act.
‘Protection of voter details is not just a technical issue but is directly related to the fundamental rights of citizens, the credibility of democracy and public trust,’ the statement said.
The statement mentioned that the guidelines ignore the risk that making gender identity public could negatively impact the right of gender minorities to live a dignified life. Digital Rights Nepal has demanded an immediate suspension of the system of distributing voter details digitally.
The organization has suggested reviewing the scope of personal details available on the commission’s website and limiting them as needed. It has urged that the election guidelines be revised in accordance with the constitutional spirit and the Personal Privacy Act and finalized only after consulting civil society, legal experts and human rights activists.
