Representation of People (Amendment Bill) 2017

The Lok Sabha passed the Representation of People (Amendment Bill) 2017, which seeks to amend the provisions of Representation of People Act (RPA) 1950 and Representation of People Act (RPA) 1951.

The Amendment Bill seeks to enable Non-Resident Indians to cast votes through their proxies in the constituency.

Key Highlights

• The amendment makes Election Commission to allow Non-Resident Indians with indirect methods of casting vote like postal vote, vote by wife etc.
• The Bill also seeks to include gender-neutral references by substituting word “wife” with “spouse”.