In a nation like Nepal based on a democratic system of governance, citizen rights, participation, and equal opportunities are considered extremely important. The constitution has ensured the right to vote to every citizen as a fundamental right.

Voting is the means by which citizens can choose their representatives, express their views in policy-making, and directly participate in the political process. But the irony is that, although the constitution has given them the right, the state has not yet been able to fully fulfill its responsibility to implement it in practice.

Especially, millions of Nepali citizens living abroad and citizens who have migrated within the country and are away from their permanent address for work, study, or other reasons are deprived of the right to vote, a situation that is not consistent with the basic principles of democratic values ​​and equality.

The time to view today's situation in terms of Himalayas, hills, and Terai is over. An estimated four million Nepali citizens are living in the Gulf countries, Malaysia, Korea, Japan, Europe, Australia, America, and other countries for employment or study.

They are the biggest force driving Nepal's economy. Since remittances have a huge impact on the country's budget balance, the state is also financially dependent on them. But in terms of political rights, they have not been able to be prioritized by the state. The fact that those who send notes are deprived of casting their votes is an example that clearly shows the true face of our governance system.

In addition, a large number of citizens migrate within the country. Citizens who are far from their permanent address due to employment, education, medical treatment, urbanization or other reasons face challenges such as not having time to go home on election day, having to stop their daily income, and increasing expenses while traveling long distances.

Due to such systemic obstacles, millions of votes are being deprived of influencing the parliament or local level. No other issue shows so factually that the constitution gives the right but if the state does not provide the opportunity, that right becomes meaningless.

Many developed and developing countries in the world have adopted foreign voting and internet voting systems. Estonia, some cantons of Switzerland, some states of the US and Australia, Korea, Canada and other countries have already implemented secure digital voting systems.

Nepal has also been making significant progress in the field of cyber infrastructure, digital citizenship system, e-governance and information technology in recent times. Considering all these factors, it is not completely impossible for Nepal to implement modern systems like foreign voting or internet voting. All that is needed is political will and institutional courage.

Internet voting or voting through embassies abroad not only opens the way for Nepalis living abroad to exercise their rights, it also makes democracy inclusive and makes the political process more credible.

If measures like secure authentication, digital ID, cyber security, blockchain-based vote secrecy system are adopted, this process can be proven safe and credible. The problem of technical infrastructure is not a problem today, the problem is only the reluctance at the policy-making level.

Similarly, it has become necessary to provide the facility of voting at the nearest polling station to citizens who have migrated within the country. The system of requiring all employed citizens, workers, students, and economically weaker communities to have a permanent address to vote limits their participation in the democratic process.

Mobile voting or arranging the nearest polling place according to migration will significantly increase democratic participation. It not only empowers citizens, but also restores trust in the state.

Voting is not an ordinary process. It is not just a citizen's duty. Rather, it is also a complete exercise of equality and expression. Being deprived of voting is a curtailment of the democratic rights of especially economically weak, expatriate and geographically displaced citizens.

Therefore, Nepal now needs to implement foreign voting and migration-friendly voting systems without delay. If democracy is to be strengthened, the path must be paved for citizens to exercise their rights in real terms.