Elections are the lifeblood of democracy. The cornerstone of democracy is the accountability of the government through elections and their results. By voting in an election, the people expect the best results to the extent that this system envisages, and delegate their sovereign power for five years to the person they vote for.

Through adult suffrage, the people appoint their representatives to run the state. Therefore, it is essential to have a debate about the election and its prosperity. In the

election, the first elected person to win the vote holds power. The defeated one regroups his power among the people.

The democratic system is driven by the interdependent relationship of the sovereign citizens who vote in periodic elections, the people's representatives who get the power and allowances of the state after being elected through voting, and the runner-up in the elections, who remain among the people and instill faith and trust, dreams, criticism, possibility and irony. Therefore, the participation of maximum citizens in the elections is a mandatory condition. 

Basically, the right to vote is not only a means of handing over power to someone in a democratic system, but it is inextricably linked with the freedom of expression of citizens to express their feelings, inspiration and criticism. It is also a question of the citizen's own existence.

In Nepal, adult suffrage is constitutionally guaranteed as a constitutional right. In a state with constitutional supremacy, constitutional rights are understood as non-negotiable subjects under any circumstances. Therefore, in the context of Nepal, it is inevitable to draw the attention of the state to advance the issue of child suffrage. 

In the preamble of the Constitution of Nepal, we are addressed as the 'sovereign Nepalese people' and the intention of the Nepali people to exercise their inherent sovereignty through 'periodic elections' and 'child suffrage' has been expressed.

Likewise, in Article 84(5) of the Constitution, it is provided that 'every Nepali citizen who has completed eighteen years of age shall have the right to vote in any constituency in accordance with the federal law'. According to this background and similar national and international provisions and agreements, any citizen eligible to vote should be deprived of the right to vote under any pretext as a challenge to the system. 

Therefore, the state should be more proactive in ensuring citizens' right to vote by researching and adopting various procedures and systems. For this, voter automatic registration system can be the best option to ensure voting opportunity and environment.

What is the auto-registration system? 

Legally, in order to exercise adult suffrage in Nepal, the name must be included in the electoral roll. There is a provision that the citizens themselves will be listed as voters only if they arrive at the time and place specified by the Election Commission and submit the necessary details. If not registered, the citizen is deprived of the right to vote. Also, the voter registration process in Nepal is suspended when the election is announced. In a democracy, the state itself is responsible  It can be easily understood that the limitation of voting rights has been created for the practical convenience of the policy makers and bureaucrats in ensuring the voting rights of maximum qualified voters through

.

In the international context, currently various countries are actively adopting various systems including 'door-to-door registration', automatic voter registration, and 'election-day registration' to register eligible voters.

By adopting these systems, it can be understood that the guarantee of adult suffrage as a citizen's political and civil rights, the protection of democratic values ​​and the value of public sentiment are guaranteed to the maximum. It also makes sense that the state is comparatively more sensitive. 

Automatic voter registration system is an excellent and effective system adopted by a democratic state to provide voting rights to the maximum number of eligible voters. Under automatic voter registration, when eligible voters submit their details or interact with the government agencies, the details are provided to the electoral roll preparation office and the names of eligible voters are automatically registered in the roll.

To understand this in a practical way, it can be considered in the following situation:

First: The youth who are a little outside of any public debate and circle, the issue of adult suffrage as their political and civil rights is secondary. For them, the right to vote is relevant only during elections. It is natural that it is pointless for the young people who are busy with their personal and professional daily life from 10 am to 5 pm to reach the place designated by the Election Commission at the appointed time to register their name in the voter list. 

According to the constitution, the name of a person who is eligible to become a voter is listed in the voter list and all the details are available with the Government of Nepal. Now let's think, how fair would it be in a democratic state for a qualified voter to be deprived of the right to vote due to the state's condition and lack of coordination just because the election commission did not provide the information fully available to the state at the designated place at the designated time? 

Second: If a citizen is in a foreign land for study or foreign employment in search of his deeds and opportunities, he cannot register his name in the electoral roll after reaching the place designated by the Election Commission at the designated time.

A person who has obtained citizenship of Nepal and has gone abroad with a passport is eligible to become a voter according to the constitution. But that person is ineligible to vote even if he comes to Nepal two months before the election day in Nepal. Because, in Nepal, the voter registration process is postponed as soon as the election is announced. As a result, he is deprived of the right to vote. 

Third: According to the data of the Election Commission and the National Census, 2078, it is confirmed that at least 1.2 million citizens who have reached the age of 18 are excluded from the electoral process because their names are not included in the electoral roll.

According to the information published by the Election Commission in the by-elections held on 16th November 2081, the total number of voters in Nepal is 181 million 28 thousand 832. But in Nepal According to the census conducted in 2078, the number of citizens who reached the age of 18 was 192 million 94 thousand 995.

2 years after the census of 2078, the number of citizens who have reached the age of 18 has naturally increased. According to which, more than 6 percent of the total eligible voters are Nepali citizens who are outside the voting process.

Therefore, in order to cast a vote, it is confirmed that the legal system that requires the citizen to physically reach the place and time specified by the Election Commission to register his name in the voter list is representative for Nepal. The seriousness of this situation is complicated when the question of the rights of 1.2 million voters is raised against the theoretical background of rethinking the entire system for the rights of a citizen in a democracy. 

For this reason, it seems inevitable to adopt voter automatic registration system as a policy solution.

required legal basis and constraints 

According to Nepal's constitution and various laws, there is a clear basis for implementing the automatic voter registration system. According to section 41 of the Voter Roll Act, 2073, it is provided that the voter roll can be prepared with the help of institutions, bodies or political parties or social organizations and other bodies and any person owned or controlled by the government at all three levels. Also, this section stipulates that it is the duty of all concerned to provide necessary assistance to the Commission while preparing the voter list. Section 7 and 8 of the Election Commission Act, 2073 also have this provision. 

According to section 34 of the Election Commission Act, 2073, the commission has also given a clear basis for preparing the voter list using new technology in coordination with various agencies of the state for election management. On the basis of which periodic elections are conducted and a few years ago the voter list with photos was also collected. 

In addition, according to the precedent of the honorable Supreme Court's past decision, under the right to vote given by the Constitution, the 'right to the opportunity to vote' is also inherent. If the constitution provides the right to vote, but the state does not create an opportunity to vote, then the right provided by the constitution becomes meaningless and purposeless. Because of this, the right of a citizen to be included in the electoral roll is interdependent with the right to vote as an adult.

According to Section 12 of the Voter List Act, 2073, any eligible citizen to be listed in the voter list has the duty to register his name in the voter list of his permanent address.

Being against the liberal and citizen-oriented system of the constitution, it becomes unconstitutional for the state to impose the irrevocable constitutional rights of citizens such as minor suffrage on the shoulders of citizens under the pretext of administrative hassles or any pretext. Therefore, this provision is not in accordance with the spirit and values ​​of the Constitution, human rights and principles enunciated by the Hon'ble Supreme Court. Therefore, it is necessary to cancel this provision, which is an obstacle to the implementation of automatic voter registration system, to the extent that it is in conflict with the constitution. 

Questions that may arise

Citizen consent is an important aspect of democratic governance. In anything, the question of citizen's consent is integral to legitimizing the state, ensuring accountability, protecting individual rights and promoting citizen participation. Therefore, this principle is essential to maintain a healthy and functioning democracy. 

Similarly, it is natural to see the state using the information collected for a sponsorship to prepare the voter list without the consent of a citizen as a violation of the right to privacy. But it needs to be understood in the bigger picture and this should not be used as a reason not to implement a fully automatic voter registration system. Every system has its own merits and demerits. If there is greater good in focusing on the virtues, it is natural to try to neutralize the defects.